Quirk Out

Quirk Out
Studio album by
Released26 October 1986
RecordedJuly 1986
StudioRockfield Studios, Monmouthshire
Genre
Length19:24
LabelStuff Records
ProducerHugh Jones
Stump chronology
Quirk Out
(1986)
A Fierce Pancake
(1988)
Singles from Quirk Out
  1. "Buffalo"
    Released: Late 1988

Quirk Out is the debut mini album by Anglo-Irish experimental rock band Stump. After building up a following with their unique sound and live performances, Stump recorded Quirk Out as their second release with producer Hugh Jones at Rockfield Studios in July 1986, following the release of the Mud on a Colon EP earlier in the year. The band's aim for Quirk Out was to capture the band's energy as a live band on studio recordings. The record blends genres such as avant-garde, funk rock with indie rock sensibilities. The best known song from the album, "Buffalo", had already been released on the NME compilation C86, an influential cassette compilation containing newly recorded music from different bands of the British independent music scene.

The band released Quirk Out on their own label Stuff Records in September 1986. It was an unprecedented success for an indie album, reaching number 2 on the UK Independent Albums Chart and spending 26 weeks on the chart. In its 20th week it became the longest-charting album in the history of the chart. It sold approximately 50,000 copies. The album was also a great critical success. Melody Maker named it "one of the pleasures of 1986," whilst Sounds and the NME both included the album in their lists of the 50 greatest albums of the year. Record Collector said the album remains "Stump's most satisfying listen." The band toured the album in 1987 and made several memorable appearances on Channel 4 music show The Tube in promotion. "Buffalo" was belatedly released as a single in 1988. Although Quirk Out has not been re-released, all its songs has been remastered and reissued, most recently on the compilation Does the Fish Have Chips?: Early and Late Works 1986–1989 (2015).