To those who might be expecting beercan-label designs or Skyway At Dusk, be forewarned that the paintings of Replacements drummer Chris Mars share no aesthetic with the boozy rock iconography of his former band. This 160-page coffeetable book depicts Mars’ nightmarish world of scarred and bandaged monsters. Inspired by difficult experiences with his older brother Joe, who suffers from schizophrenia, Mars isn’t attempting to give you the creeps; he’s trying to make you accept these grotesque faces, to learn not to see them as monsters or freaks or mentally ill. [www.billyshirefinearts.com]
—Matthew Fritch
