THE WIPERS: Is This Real? Vinyl LP

Portland, 1980. Greg Sage records Is This Real? and quietly invents a template that Kurt Cobain would later describe as one of his biggest influences, which explains a lot about why grunge always had that particular cold, aching quality underneath the noise.

The Wipers were post-punk before anyone had agreed on the name, playing raw and angular and bleak in a way that felt both deeply American and completely out of step with everything happening around them. Is This Real? sits comfortably alongside Wire, the Buzzcocks, and early Replacements in the canon of records that punk rock absolutely needs you to know about. The proto-grunge lineage runs directly through this record, and if you've ever wondered where that Pacific Northwest darkness in alternative music actually came from, here's your answer on vinyl.

Vinyl LP. Original year of release: 1980. Origin: Portland, Oregon, USA. Genre: Punk Rock / Post-Punk / Proto-Grunge.

Fans of: Wire, Buzzcocks, Husker Du, Nirvana, Dead Moon.