GREEN NAUGAHYDE

PRIMUS return with another excellent dose of off-beat, Prog flavoured Indie-Funk-Metal bass heavy music. Their first album since 1999's 'Antipop', Green Naugahyde (one guess what colour the vinyls are....) features 13 compositions that capture all aspects and approaches the band have taken over the years - some songs recall Frizzle Fry, Seas of Cheese, Pork Soda and so on, lyrically humourous, musically tight and technical. Intact from the previous line-up are Les Claypool, who still abuses his four strings like no-one else and Larry Lalonde (Ler) who still strums and shreds his guitar in his own peculiar way. Newbie, drummer Jay Lane, whilst not as heavy-handed as Tim Alexander, supplies strong grooves and fine percussive details similar to previous drummer Brain (Brian Mantia). He has actually worked with Les in early incarnations of the band back in the 80's. Second best just will not do. The short opener, 'Prelude To A Crawl', is an instrumental consisting of bass effects and bass soloing that's mysterious in atmosphere, and I wish that Les would've done more of this sort of thing. 'Hennepin Crawler' is an absolute killer track driven by a rather Zeuhl sounding bass - Les really puts on an extraordinary show. His vocals are quirky as always. 'Last Salmon Man' is a longer track that has a solid groove, cool bass and highlights Larry's playing. 'Eternal Consumption Engine' covers their weirdo-goofy angle with loopy vocals, bowed bass and percussive bits and pieces. There's also an edge of darkness involved. 'Tragedy's A'Comin' is the 'commercial' song of the album that has the feel of songs on their 'Brown Album' - some jazzy guitaring from Ler and a funky beat. 'Eyes Of The Squirrel' is very interesting and something different from the guys, in that it's built from a reversed bass loop, repetitive beat, and holds an almost trance-inducing quality. Some spacey sounds break up the mantra towards the end. The longest cut, 'Jilly's On Smack', is a dark and messed-up jam with Les bowing his upright bass and playing plenty of tritones. It tells the tale of a junkie who has overdosed. To cut a long story short, anyone reading this far will have an idea of what to expect. No track could be considered as filler, and there are plenty of surprises along the way as well as the consistencies which are honest in the world of Primus. We all have to wait till near end for 'Extinction Burst' - a ferocious punch-to-the-face of supersonic bass, manic drums and guitar madness. Excellent all 'round.