Performer Notes

Letters To Cleo: Kay Hanley (vocals, guitar); Greg McKenna, Michael Eisenstein (vocals, guitar); Scott Riebling (vocals, bass); Stacy Jones (vocals, drums).
Additional personnel: Newt Haven, Mike Denneen (organ); Dave Gibbs, Ellen Hanley (background vocals).
Recorded at Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles, California and Q Division, Boston, Massachusetts.
Recording information: Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Q Division, Boston, MA.
Wholesale Meats and Fish doesn't break any new musical ground, but it is far from a sophomore slump for Letters to Cleo. The band rocks harder than it had previously, but retains pop pureness and continues to entertain.
When the band's first album Aurora Gory Alice was released in 1993, it received little critical or popular response. But including "Here and Now" on the Melrose Place soundtrack helped Aurora's record sales pick up steam. At that point, the band had already recorded Wholesale Meats and Fish, but couldn't release it yet because they had newfound popularity to deal with (a tour and video were put into motion). When it was finally released, Fish was revealed to be a solid effort, but it wasn't perceived to be as timely or important as the band's first record.
Letters to Cleo spent most of the time in between recording both albums playing countless shows. This is apparent on Wholesale Meats and Fish in a decidedly harder-edged sound to the music, reminiscent of Letters' live performances. Guitarists Michael Eisenstein and Greg McKenna have stepped up their roles and turned up the volume on their instruments this time around, while bassist Scott Riebling has been pushed farther down in the mix. ~ Troy Carpenter

Professional Reviews

Musician (10/95, pp.81-82) - "...Letters To Cleo...retool the past, creating glorious turbo-charged pop with near perfect accuracy....repeated listening...is like washing down blueberry pie with a whiskey chaser. Sure tastes sweet, but what a bruising kick in the ribs..."

NME (Magazine) (1/20/96, p.44) - 6 (out of 10) - "...Their sound isn't a million miles away from a zillion Sub Pop bands, but the feeling of fun rescues [LTC] from the noose of post-Kurt flannel....their hugely infectious joie de vivre turns WHOLESALE...into a shake-your-sad-fringe-about record..."