‘Scratch Acid’: the forgotten album Kurt Cobain considered one of his favourites of all time

Posted On October 22, 2025October 22, 2025

Considering how little he left behind over his short life, pretty much everything Kurt Cobain touched has since turned to gold. Add to that his near-perfect track record as an artist, and his endorsements are just as valuable.

The grunge pioneer was among the biggest names in music at one point in time, yet he always made it a point to give his heroes their due credit in reiterating that Nirvana didn’t just appear out of thin air. A product of their influences, the trio took inspiration from every direction and gave it their own unique touch. While they were original in a lot of ways, DNA traces of the artists Cobain loved can certainly be found in his work.

One such band was Scratch Acid, a four-piece from Texas that only put out three bundles of music over their brief recording career in the 1980s. Their self-titled debut EP left quite the impression on the Seattle native as he expressed his affinity with it in his journal multiple times. Alongside Dying for It by The Vaselines, Scratch Acid was perhaps the most obscure title mentioned in his now-famous list of favourite albums. In addition to masterpieces such as Surfer Rosa by Pixies and Raw Power by Iggy and the Stooges, the eight-part record was published in 1984 and even went to number 26 on the UK Indie Chart.

Vigorous and full of attitude, it’s a reminder that there would be no Nirvana without punk. Sure, they went on to become the brand ambassadors of grunge, but even that was really an offshoot of punk music and culture. Although Scratch Acid’s greatest claim to fame is Cobain’s love of it, the tracklist’s overall merit is entirely self-made.

Over its 21-minute runtime, the EP makes a convincing case for the art of noise and untidiness. While tracks like ‘Greatest Gift’ and ‘Monsters’ have a more traditional punk sound, ‘Owner’s Lament’ and ‘El Espectro’ demonstrate the group’s fluency in traversing different styles while retaining the stamina of hardcore clutter. Though seemingly one-dimensional at first, a closer listen reveals that the record at hand actually has several layers and is far more textured than it initially lets on.

In praising Nirvana, Noel Gallagher once said, “They weren’t doing anything the Pixies hadn’t done already.” While this is true, the same can be said about Scratch Acid. Sure, the Pacific Northwest triad did it bigger and better than the artists who set them up for success, but their predecessors ensured that the coast was clear. That way, Cobain and co were able to focus their efforts on refining their material.

When Scratch Acid did split up in 1987 (that damn-near inevitable event the future always seems to hold), band members David Yow and David Sims went on to form the Jesus Lizard. A few years later, they toured with Nirvana and even teamed up with them on a split single via Touch and Go Records — reaching number 12 on the UK singles chart, which eventually became the Texan group’s only individual hit in Britain.

The mutual admiration between the leaders of both groups is well-documented. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Yow revealed that Cobain would even try to sound like him in the studio.

“Steve [Albini] said a couple of times when they recorded that record [In Utero] up in Minnesota, Kurt wanted him to push the ‘David Yow button,’ which flatters the fuck out of me,” he said, referring to the late singer-songwriter wanting his vocals processed a certain way.

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