Review – Melvins Lite – Freak Puke

 Rating: 3.8 out of 5

Label: Ipecac
 
One thing that you can say for sure – Melvins adore their classic FM rock.
As if there wasn’t proof enough already (see “Going Blind”,  “Ballad Of Dwight Fry”, “Buick McCane” etc etc), their new album contains a cover of Wings “Let Me Roll On It” delivered in crunchy Melvins style.
In general, though, the influence of classic rock permeates the entire album (up to the ending of “Tommy Goes Berserk”  – a slight poke at Pink Floyd’s “Bike”), which brings me to another point.  “Freak Puke”is Melvins album in anything but the line-up and band name only.
There are a couple of stylistic detours from Melvins work on the album (Waitsian “Worm Farm Waltz” and semi-symphonic opener “Mr. Rip Off”), but by far and large it relies on big, chunky riffs which  provided a foundation for Melvins own “Nude In The Boots”.
While by no means a disappointment or a horrible failure (though I can live without a throwaway like “Inner Ear Rapture”), I simply expected something a bit more adventurous out of “Freak Puke” given that Mr. Dunn is in the band. As it stands – its a good, high quality album that anybody would expect out of any Melvins-associated project, but it also comes off sounding a bit short on fresh ideas.