So the relentlessly prolific Melvins are back yet again, and following another lineup reshuffle, are, for this release, operating under the moniker of Melvins-Lite. It’s something of a misnomer, because ‘Freak Puke’ might not contain wall-to-wall sludged-out stoner rock riffs, it’s anything but flimsy in construction.
It begins with ‘Mr Rip-Off’, a slow, snaking piece of warped psychedelia-infused pop, that’s seductive and slightly strange but curiously accessible. In some respects, it calls to mind some of Queens of the Stone Age’s mellower moments, which makes a change from QOTSA evoking Melvins’ heavier moments.
But this is a Melvins album, and nothing’s as it seems, and nothing’s entirely predictable. The scratchy upright bass bowing that veers between neoclassical and avant-garde on the introduction to ‘Baby, Won’t You Weird me Out’, which leaps from frazzled wig-out to groovin’ road-trip rock brings a new dimension to the band’s ever-evolving sound. No two ways about it, Melvins are a remarkable act. No two albums sound alike – contrast the sludge rock of, say, ‘Ozma’ against the experimental dicking about of ‘Prick’ and the grunge stylings of ‘Houdini’, for example – yet they’re always distinctively Melvins. So when ‘Worm Farm Waltz’ sounds like both Foetus and ZZ Top within the space of its four minute duration, it’s only half a surprise. The real shock is that it actually works.
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‘Leon vs the Revolution’ is a proper full-on big riff workout, Melvins style, but then things go unexpectedly Pink Floyd on ‘Holy Barbarians’ which drifts in a meandering proggy haze until the title track tears it up with a riff that sounds more like The Rolling Stones than Black Sabbath, Buzzo coming on like AC/DC’s Brian Johnson. ‘Let Me Roll It’ is a Wings cover, and they’ve retained that classic rock feel to the extent that it tempts me into suggesting that ‘Freak Puke’ is one of the band’s most accessible albums in their lengthy career.
On the subject of lengthy, the last track, ‘Tommy Goes Bedrserk’ is almost ten minutes in length and builds like vintage Hawkwind. It perhaps goes without saying that it’s a storming finish to a strong album that once again proves that Melvins are far and away the best at doing what they do – which is quite simply being Melvins.
Melvins Online
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