MR. BUNGLE

Maniacal, twisted, perverted, evil. These are words you could describe Mr. Bungle's debut with. Blending everything from lounge-jazz to death metal all within one song is no easy feat, and yet they seem to flow from the drastically different styles quite coherently. Listening to this album is no easy feat, as it (like the other two official studio releases from Mr. Bungle) is dense in structure and the sudden shifts can catch the listener off guard. There's some aura emitted from it that I just can't escape from. The group's brand of off-the-wall avant-funk-metal was a breath of fresh air in the early 90s and really set this group apart from everyone else.

What you can get out of this album musically is just about everything you could possibly imagine. Although this sort of experimentation is more prevalent on Disco Volante, this album shows those sentiments in an early, more raw form that, in my opinion comes off terribly well. When listening to this album you'll also know how perverted/childish the lyrics can be, especially in the free-form song Squeeze Me Macaroni and the infamous Girls of Porn. However, what I really like about these songs is the backing music, which is everything from funk to death metal, to raunchy sax music all within one song, a trademark Mr. Bungle acquired.

Mr. Bungle's debut may not be the easiest album to listen to (although Disco Volante is a much harder listen on first try), it's an interesting timepiece that shows a band expanding from their early days and planting the seeds to what their next album, their most recognized work Disco Volante, would become. If you want pure avant-garde insanity, go with Disco Volante. If you want accessible and catchy music, go with California. And if you want something that has elements of both, then go with this album, you probably won't be disappointed. Highly recommended.