Pristine Smut is the second studio album released by American alternative pop band The Murmurs; it was released in 1997 on MCA

MCA Records

MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

. The album was produced by Larry Klein

Larry Klein

Larry Klein is a music producer, songwriter and bass guitar player, commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator, and ex-husband, of Joni Mitchell....

 and k.d. lang

K.D. Lang

Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...

 and all tracks on the album were written by The Murmurs members Heather Grody and Leisha Hailey

Leisha Hailey

Leisha Hailey is an American actress and musician most widely known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the Showtime Networks production The L Word...

. The track "Squeezebox Days" featured on the soundtrack to the 1997 film All Over Me.

Reception

In a review for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...

 gave Pristine Smut a star rating of four out of five. He noted that the album had a rhythm section added to the "folk pop" of its predecessor, 1994's Murmurs. He praised producers Klein and Lang for steering the band towards "adult alternative rock" but said that the sound was "clean and pristine ... shined and polished and now ready for radio". He said, however, that the songs on Pristine Smut were stronger than those of the previous album.

Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...

 gave the album an A- rating and praised it as an improvement on their previous album. He said of Pristine Smut, "not since Liz Phair's "Flower", Janet's "Throb", and Madonna's Erotica has pop softcore attended so sweetly to the erogenous zones." In a review for The Advocate

The Advocate

The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...

, Barry Walters also noted the "rockin' rhythm section" of the second album. He described the tracks produced by Lang as "punk[y]" and "Nirvana-esque" and the ones produced by Klein as "like Suzanne Vega before dance beats discovered her".

The album was nominated for an award for Album of the Year at the Gay & Lesbian American Music Awards in 1998.

Track listing

• "Big Talker"
• "I'm a Mess"
• "Toy"
• "Underdog"
• "About Nothin'"
• "Genius"
• "Squeeze Box Days"
• "Don't Lie"
• "Sucker Upper"
• "Country Song"
• "Sleepless Commotion"

Personnel

Music

• Teddy Borowiecki — keyboards
• Heather Grody — guitar, electric guitar, vocals
• Leisha Hailey
  Leisha Hailey
  Leisha Hailey is an American actress and musician most widely known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the Showtime Networks production The L Word...
  
   — guitar, vocals
• Larry Klein
  Larry Klein
  Larry Klein is a music producer, songwriter and bass guitar player, commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator, and ex-husband, of Joni Mitchell....
  
   — bass, electric guitar, Hammond organ
  Hammond organ
  The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
  
  
• Greg Leisz
  Greg Leisz
  Greg Leisz is an American multi-instrumentalist, playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass.- Biography :Leisz was influenced early on by the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, especially pedal steel player "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow...
  
   — mandolin, pedal steel
• Jerry Marotta
  Jerry Marotta
  Jerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer....
  
   — drums
• Ben Mink
  Ben Mink
  Ben Mink is a Canadian songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer.Born of Polish parents, Mink was raised in Toronto Ontario. He got his start performing with the rock/country group Mary-Lou Horner, which became the house band at bar and nightclub....
  
   — guitar, strings
• Sheri Ozeki — bass
• Sherri Solinger — drums

Production

• Larry Klein — arranger, producer
• k.d. lang
  K.D. Lang
  Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
  
   — producer
• Ben Mink — arranger
• Tony Phillips — engineer, mixing
• Marc Ramaer — engineer
• Skip Saylor — engineer, mixing
• Eddy Schreyer — mastering

Design

• Todd Gallopo — art direction, design
• Dave Jensen — photography
• Tim Stedman — art direction, design