After 21 long years, Nirvana fans will be able to hear previously unreleased music from the king of ’90s grunge, Kurt Cobain. As the soundtrack to the Cobain documentary Montage of Heck, the self-titled release due November 6 will include all of the previously unreleased material from the film as well as a dozen additional tracks, according to Billboard. The album will go on sale alongside Montage of Heck‘s DVD release.
Don’t expect the new LP to sound like a Nirvana record, though. “[It] will feel like you’re kind of hanging out with Kurt Cobain on a hot summer day in Olympia, Washington as he fiddles about,” said Morgen to Bedford and Bowery. “It’s going to really surprise people. Just to be clear, it’s not a Nirvana album, it’s just Kurt and you’re going to hear him do things you never expected to come out of him.”
Morgen pieced together the songs from 200 hours of audio on 107 found cassette tapes which held between 30 and 50 demos, according to Billboard. The tracks will vary widely, “from thrash to ragtime and everything in between,” but most still do include the trademark Nirvana sound according to reports.
Brett put together the raw, unmastered Cobain record by himself. “These aren’t multi-track, finished songs or work-ups, but they’re extraordinary, and I think they provide a tremendous insight into his [creative] process,” said the director to Billboard. “I think they further our understanding of Kurt, both as a musician and as a man.”
The record is a musical companion to the HBO-produced Montage of Heck doc. Released on the network May 4, it dove into Cobain’s professional and personal life, and received near universal approval from critics.
Like so many albums released posthumously, the release of the compilation of audio recordings that Cobain may not have wanted to make public will probably be more controversial. Still, for those missing the artistic insight of one of the greatest pop musicians of his time, the new album will no doubt be an extremely intriguing prospect.
