RAT-A-TAT-TAT!

I've listened to the Melvins but I've never owned any Melvins albums. That may change after my two most recent album purchases: Gift of Sacrifice by King Buzzo, guitarist and vocalist for the Melvins, and Rat-a-Tat-Tat! by Dale Crover, drummer for the Melvins. They are both strange, intriguing, inviting, and, at times, challenging albums. But they are both also great albums filled with tracks that work individually and as parts of the whole.

So, some notes and thoughts on Rat-a-Tat-Tat! by Dale Crover...

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SIDE A 

Track 1 > "Moclips"
A brief instrumental introduction that serves as harbinger/warning of what is to come. Sparse backwards vocals are joined by a backwards drum track and (backwards?) jawharp. This reminds me of the chanting of the Gyoto Monks for some reason.

Track 2 > "I Can't Help You There"
A pleasant straightforward rocker that sort of reminds me of the Butthole Surfers at their most mainstream.

Track 3 > "Tougher"
A fuzzed out, feedback-laden opening leads into a blues stomp with vocals deep in the mix.

Track 4 > "Stumbler"
Seedy saxophone skronking neo-noir leads into warbly vocals and a drum beat that pulls us along. It's essentially a jazz track with backing female vocals.

Track 5 > "Shark Like Overbite"
This is the "poppy" rock song of the album. It's about Dale's dogs. It has a driving melody line. It's joy-filled nougaty goodness that reminds me of psychedelic-tinged Big Star and the music by the 1970s Saturday morning cartoon "band" the Groovie Goolies.

Track 6 > "Supine Is How I Found Him"
Springy guitars and jawharp and percussion. It's a trippy instrumental that, like the first track, has a bit of a hypnotic, ritualistic sense about it.

SIDE B

Track 7 > "I'll Never Say"
Syrupy-slow jangly guitar lines and noodly keyboards anchor this track. If there was a "weed song" on the album, then this is it.

Track 8 > "New Pharoah"
Melodic noise. Rhythmic "prayer" with vocals.

Track 9 > "Untrue Crime"
A bluesy number I could imagine Tom Petty singing. There is also a little bit of punk rock and another little bit of ZZ Top in its bones. Maybe even some Southern rock.

Track 10 > "The Bowie Mix"
A short trippy track that is as much blues jam as anything.

Track 11 > "Piso Mojado"
A slow percussive track that some hip hop act should sample.

Track 12 > "Kiss Proof World"
This is a slow rocker that reminds me of some of the slower numbers that Pearl Jam favors. At the end it devolves into a "Moclips" coda of sorts.

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For an album that I knew very little about upon entry, this is a spectacular discovery! I absolutely love it. It's got just enough weirdness in it, for my tastes, but it also just outright rocks.

I'm glad I took the leap into its grooves!