Severe Exposure Expanded Release Features Machine Cuisine EP

On 12 September 2025, Sub Pop issues the expanded edition of Six Finger Satellite’s Severe Exposure, packaged as a double LP for the album’s thirtieth anniversary. The release includes the original album, a separate 12-inch with the band’s 1994 Machine Cuisine EP, and a digital download with 17 additional tracks comprising rare singles, compilation appearances, and previously unreleased material. Remastering was handled by JJ Golden. The box set features individual sleeves for each LP.

Title: Severe Exposure
Artist: Six Finger Satellite
Release Date: 2025-09-12
Genres: Noise Rock, Post-punk
Label: Sub Pop Records
Description: Six Finger Satellite’s Severe Exposure Deluxe Edition arrives September 12, 2025, via Sub Pop, with 35 remastered tracks and rare 1990s material.

Severe Exposure was tracked at The Parlour, the group’s own recording facility in Providence, Rhode Island, and stands as the highest-selling title in the band’s catalog. Across its various formats, the Deluxe Edition assembles 35 distinct tracks recorded by the group during its initial run, including material not previously collected in one place. The core of the original album captures the band at a time when its sound moved further into synthetic territory, overlaying tense, caustic guitar work with analog electronics.

Six Finger Satellite formed in Providence in 1990, with a lineup consisting of J. Ryan (vocals, keyboards), John MacLean (guitar), Peter Phillips (guitar), Chris Dixon (bass), and Rick Pelletier (drums). The group signed to Sub Pop following its debut EP, Weapon, and issued its first full-length, The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird, in 1993. Severe Exposure followed in 1995.

Several sources point to the group’s role in the late-90s and early-2000s return to post-punk and synth-driven rock, with the 1995 album placing synthesizers at the center of the group’s tension-heavy structures. Contemporary reviews referenced the album’s abrupt shifts and dense textures, with AllMusic describing it as “nervous pandemonium, full of buzzing guitars and spectral Moog lines.” Trouser Press highlighted tracks such as “Rabies (Baby’s Got The)” and “Simian Fever” as both aggressive and invested in the synthetic ambitions of early new wave. SF Weekly and Chunklet characterized the record with a direct approach, sidestepping standard genre celebrations.

John MacLean later became known for his work as The Juan MacLean. Rick Pelletier was involved in other projects, including The Chinese Stars.

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