11:11 (Come album)

After their 7" single "Car" was released as part of Sub Pop's Singles Club subscription series, "Come started getting raves in the press, [and] played to wildly enthusiastic crowds in London and Amsterdam"[10] before recording their debut album 11:11, which was recorded and mixed in just seven-and-a-half days.[10] Recorded in July 1992 at Fort Apache Studios in Cambridge, MA, 11:11 was produced by Come with Tim O'Heir and Carl Plaster. The album takes its title from the numerological phenomenon involving the recurrence and potential synchronicity of the time 11:11. The members of the band "decided on the title after glancing at a digital clock on several occasions and finding it was 11:11 each time."[11] As Brokaw puts it, "[i]t was a recurring phenomena [...] It became a sort of superstitious mantra."[11]

The band recorded a music video for the album's opening track, "Submerge", directed by Jesse Peretz, in addition to which their song "Dead Molly"[12] was included in Allison Anders and Kurt Voss's 1999 independent comedy Sugar Town.

The song "Fast Piss Blues" was released as a single, featuring a cover of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards's "I Got the Blues", from The Rolling Stones' 1971 album Sticky Fingers, as its B-side. Both songs were included in the CD version of 11:11, but did not feature in the LP version.

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau said that the music comprises flat melodies with some slide guitar and lyrics that range from "unintelligible to incomprehensible".[3] Entertainment Weekly described 11:11 as "a captivating blast of ennui and feedback that may be Matador's finest moment yet", going on to characterize it as "enthralling, like watching someone howl into a rainstorm,"[13] whilst The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music states that it was "rightly lauded as one of 1992's finest releases."[14] Allmusic referred to 11:11 as "a uniquely sludgy, electric, and strong fusion of sounds and styles, combining extreme angst and commanding power."[15] Trouser Press stated that 11:11 is "very much a guitar tour de force, drenched as it is in the sweaty fluids that come forth when the six-strings of Zedek (a veteran of Boston's Dangerous Birds and New York's Live Skull) and Chris Brokaw (who served concurrently as Codeine's drummer until 1993) rub against each other."[16] Rolling Stone magazine called 11:11 "one of Matador's defining records,"[17] whilst the Rough Guide to Rock summarizes 11:11 as follows: "The music and moods teeter precariously, erupting into violent explosions with little warning."[18]

In January 2013, Matador Records announced that a special 20th anniversary 2 LP/CD re-issue of 11:11 would be released as in May 2013. The re-issue includes the original release, in addition to a live album consisting of the band's performance at the 1992 Vermonstress Festival.[19] Announcing the news, Pitchfork described 11:11 as "one of the more elusive gems of Matador's back catalog."[20]

The vinyl LP version of the record was pressed by United Record Pressing in Nashville, TN.

No Safety covered 11:11's opening track, "Submerge" in their 1994 album Live at the Knitting Factory, whilst Australian alternative rock band Screamfeeder covered "Off To One Side" in their 1999 album Home Age, a cover which was later included in their 2011 rarities compilation Cargo Embargo (B Sides & More).

• Thalia Zedek – vocals, guitar
• Chris Brokaw – guitar, vocals
• Sean O'Brien – bass
• Arthur Johnson – drums

with

• Carl Plaster – piano on "Brand New Vein", organ on "Sad Eyes", floor tom on "Power Failure"
• Bob Hamilton – art direction
• Roderigo Avila – cover art