Freak Puke [Import]

Wait, didn't the Melvins just release and tour on their excellent free EP, The Bulls and The Bees? How is it possible they already have another album out? Well, it's true. They're already back with a new full length album and they're planning a record breaking tour in the fall.

Freak Puke does have a pretty big difference from Melvins albums that have come out in recent years. Second drummer Coady Willis and bassist Jared Warren are not on this album. Instead we have Trevor Dunn playing stand up bass. He's no stranger to The Melvins though. He played bass on their "Houdini Live 2005" album and has also played with Buzz and Dale in Fantomas.

Needless to say this album sounds a lot different than their recent efforts (not that their recent efforts sound the same). If it sounded like any previous Melvins I would probably compare it to Honky or Stag, maybe even the Bootlicker although I think the album is much heavier than The Bootlicker. Like their other albums it really is it's own unique entry in their discography.

Honestly, this is one of the hardest albums in their discography to review. Sometimes it reminds me of their more 70's rock inspired songs (Leon vs the Revolution), sometimes it reminds me of their heavier sludge work (A Growing Disgust), sometimes it reminds me of an odd hybrid of Trevor's jazz influences combined with Buzz's indistinguishable guitar work (Baby, Won't You Weird Me Out), and that's barely the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot of depth to these songs and it's impossible to notice everything going on after a few listens.

So should you get the album? Absolutely! However, if you're just wanting a straight forward hard-rock album that's going to make sense on the first listen you probably aren't going to find that here. However, if you've been dying for an album that's weird, challenging, and rocks Freak Puke will likely be your favorite album of 2012. Buy it and support the hardest working band in the business!

Its getting pretty hard to review Melvins albums. What does one really say at this point besides, "Buzz and Dale continue to make great albums that challenge their fans but still sound like the Melvins. This time they did (whatever the unique but never gimmicky approach to their music is on this album) with (current bass player) and the results are great!" ?

Anyway, "Freak Puke" is a great Melvins album. This time out, they bill themselves as "Melvins Lite" because Jared and Coady aren't on this album, and Trevor Dunn is manning a stand up bass (playing with no amp of any kind) to cover the low end. Don't be fooled by the "Lite" part of the title, though, this is not a sequel to "The Bootlicker" and fans will have plenty of loud guitars, heavy drums and snarling vocals to enjoy. Mr. Dunn does an excellent job on bass, you'll hear jazz influnced plucking as well as some cool sounding bow work, with it all being very up in the mix, so again, the sonic weight is definitely there and just because its an upright bass with no amp hardly means its a "Lite" sound.

While this approach with an upright bass may sound like just a neat gimmick, it really works well and blends with Buzz and Dale just as good as any other instrumental line up they've done over the years. Its also worth noting that the emphasis on this album is on songs. There is very little noise mongering on display (though a Melvins album will always have some) and what is here doesn't stay too long. In a lot of respects you could compare "Freak Puke" to "Nude With Boots" given the surplus of 70's rock riffage on display and the tight focused songs.

Also worth noting is the cover of Wings "Let Me Roll It." Its a pretty faithful cover and its pretty awesome. It (and their other excellent covers over the years) kinda makes me wish the Melvins would do a full covers album, but I have a feeling they'd never be that predictable.

All in all its an extremely enjoyable Melvins album, and proves again that there is no limit to the amazing rock these guys can crank out, as they've been doing it for well over 20 years now without ever really coming close to making the same album twice. An easy purchase for seasoned fans and new people alike.

EDIT: Apparently the band saw this review (?!?!?!?!?!?!) as the next Melvins album, Everybody Loves Sausages, is indeed a COVERS ALBUM!!!! I don't know for sure if they read my review or not, but if so... Yikes!!!!

I guess they're Melvins 'lite' on this record because Jared and Cody aren't on it and so it's not the 'Melvins'. It's definitely a 'heavy' record and sounds great. When I read that it would be all upright-acoustic bass on this one and saw the 'lite' i figured it would be similar to the 'an evening with the melvins' performances of a few years ago where they softened up their sound. however there are lots of great loud guitars and buzzo snarling screaming on this one. can't wait to get my hard copy of this one :)