Liquidizer is the debut album by British rock band Jesus Jones, released in October 1989 through Food Records.

[6] The trio found it difficult to secure gigs as promoters were not interested in the band, prompting them to take on "pay to play" engagements.

[8] As this was the time period of the proliferation indie bands, such as the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Smiths, it dawned on Edwards that they should instead bring in another guitarist.

[8] Despite the poor sound in the room they held an audition in, which meant they were unable to hear what Borg was playing, he formally joined the band.

Ghetto blasters at these locales allowed him to discover more music, such as the work of Age of Chance and Beastie Boys in 1986, and later acid house in 1988.

[17] That same month, Edwards made a three-song cassette that featured early versions of "Info Freako", "Broken Bones" and "What's Going On", the latter then known as "Grunge Hip".

[18] Three months afterwards, Gen borrowed a half-complete demo of "Info Freako"; sometime later, Edwards was contacted by Andy Ross of Dave Balfe Management[17] in October 1989.

[25] The band members left their day jobs in order to support the Shamen and the Wonder Stuff on their respective tours[26] between March and June 1989.

[28] "Bring It on Down" went through numerous changes: a longer intro section, a portion evolving into "I Feel Love" (1977) by Donna Summer, and another that Baker said could "only be described as a free-form acid techno workout.

AllMusic reviewer Ned Raggett wrote that the liner notes list a myriad of sources for samples, stretching from "Prince and Sonic Youth to Apocalypse Now and the news and views of 1988 and 1989".

[30] Baker said the members were enthusiastic about releasing an album as quickly as they could, shifting their aim away from making a "grand artistic statement" to instead "strik[ing] while the iron was still hot".

In order to free up space, they could sample at half of the normal bandwidth, which Baker said was the equivalent of bouncing down tracks on a multi-track console.

[28] Spectrum Culture writer Darryl G. Wright said the track begins with a house beat that shifts into what he theorised could be the "earliest 'crazy drop' in dance music history.

[32] Initially named "Norman", the lyrics for "Move Mountains" were influenced by a taxi ride that Edwards took through the North part of London, which was adorned by numerous religious artefacts.

[34] "Never Enough" is based on the first scene in Stardust Memories (1980), where Paul Lester of Classic Pop wrote that the "protagonist finds himself dismally dissatisfied with his lot" of associates.

"[36] "What's Going On" features hip hop break sections, with wah-wah enhanced guitar parts layered on top, and is followed by the industrial track "Song 13".

[47] A remixed version of "Bring It on Down", subtitled "liquidized mix", was released as a twelve-inch vinyl record, with "Cut and Dried" and "Info Sicko" as its B-sides.

Jesus Jones, meanwhile, were being tagged as grebo by the music press, alongside Gaye Bikers on Acid and Pop Will Eat Itself, much to the chagrin of Edwards.

[19] They signed to American-based EMI imprint SBK Records,[53] which had plenty of chart success with its acts Vanilla Ice and Wilson Phillips in 1990.

Mena thought the band would be perfect to aid in diversifying their roster and pestered chairman Charles Koppelman about them: "Quite frankly, I think he said yes to shut me up".

[54] The label would release Liquidizer in the US on 4 June 1990,[55] with "Broken Bones" and the "I Don't Want That Kind of Love" cover as bonus tracks.

[27] The regular version of the album, alongside 2014 bonus material and the addition of more demos, was included on the career-spanning box set Some of the Answers in 2022.

[61] In 2019, the band re-recorded four of the album's tracks, namely "Move Mountains", "All the Answers", "Bring It on Down" and "Someone to Blame", for release as the EP Liquidizer 2019.

[64] "Move Mountains", "The Real World", "Song 13" and "Too Much to Learn" were featured on the compilation The Collection – A Selection of Band Favourites and Rarities (2011).

Raggett wrote that "it's the breadth which makes Liquidizer a thrilling experience, even if the end results are oddly enough one-dimensional: instantly catchy power pop fed through industrial, techno, and hip-hop approaches, topped off with Mike Edwards' confident bark".

[30] Gary Graff and Doug Brod of Trouser Press said that the album being "basically a set of variations on one brilliant song ('Move Mountains') shouldn't discourage potential disciples.

[16] Steve Hochman of Los Angeles Times praised the meshing of different styles, making it "one of the more arresting efforts of [the] year";[70] Wright wrote that while it could be "celebrated for being ‘retro’, [it] manages to sound timeless".

[71] Nick Duerden in The Rough Guide to Rock wrote that the distorted vocals, roaring guitars, and mutant melody lines instantly made this a favourite with those who though themselves daring", referring to it was the band's best release.