This review was originally published in premiere music and lifestyle magazine, Rip It Up – Issue 352, April/May 2013.
Trevor Dunn is playing bass in Tomahawk. You now what this mean, right? It means Mr Bungle/Fantomas-styled musical depravity, added to by the Prince of Projects, Mike Patton. Who doesn’t love Mike Patton really? Well, some people dislike him, and arguments for or against the are as black and white as the Vegemite/Marmite debate; so you can’t account for everybody’s taste. With trademark Dunn and Patton nuttiness present, something needs to balance it out; some percussive precision. Enter John Stainer, the man responsible for pounding skins on Battles albums. ‘Stone Letter’ and ‘White Hats/Black Hats’, in which Patton utters the incredible phrase sexy ass chaise lounge,” are perfectly crafted ditties that get lodged in your brain.
Well crafted moments that carry no excess fat are plentiful on Oddfellows. ‘Southpaw’ is reminiscent of Bleach-era Nirvana, that is delightfully insistent and angst ridden. Weirdness still appears, see ‘Rise Up Dirty Waters’ which sounds like how a David Lynch film looks, and ‘I Can Almost See Them’ for those moments of spine tingling kook. Oddfellows is as large and refreshing as the once popular minty treat. And just like those lollies, this album should be kept in everyone’s glove box, in case of emergency.
