Bungle Experiments
Written: Dec 21 '02 (Updated Sep 12 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Masterful musicianship, highly adventurous
Cons: Just a bit fragmented and inconsistent, but this was probably intentional.
The Bottom Line: All in all, this probably should not be your first Mr. Bungle purchase, but as time goes by it will probably become your favorite.
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| tangento's Full Review: Disco Volante by Mr. Bungle |
This is the middle section of 3 major releases from this seminal multi-influenced rock band. It is their strongest effort, from an experimental music lover's perspective. Mainstream exposure and recognition seemed to be the furthest thing from Mr. Bungle's minds while putting together this concoction of ska, grind, jazz, tripped-out ambience and over-the-top instrumental weirdness. Listening to this CD from one end to the other is like some strange journey encompassing surreal dreams, violent nightmares and many of the things in-between.
The disc starts out with what is probably Bungle's least accessible song to date, Everyone I Went To High School With Is Dead. This is a slow, raw and ugly dirge. Next up is Chemical Marriage, which is a loungy and catchy yet spooky little number, oddly enchanting. It is a bouncy, dynamic organ-based piece with Mike Patton's psychotic vocal stylings sprinkled about. This leads us into Carry Stress in the Jaw which is a two-parter: Part 1 sports a noisy then jazzy intro, bangs and crashes thrashily along, finally collapsing into chaos (which is a running motif on this album). I get the sense of a Poe/cocaine theme here. Part 2 twangs madly about with Devo/ Wall of Voodoo-esque guitar noodling and old man narratives, whiny silliness and banshee wailing courtesy of Patton. (Part 2, as I call it, is also known as The Secret Song)
Patton starts the next number, Desert Search for Techno Allah with the maddening sounds of gagging and (hopefully) dry heaves. This is a landmark song for the album, and for Bungle as a whole. The name pretty much sums it up, a journey through some far-off middle-eastern wasteland, ornamented with a techno beat and weird chants of qiamat qiamat a tawil, etc. An incredible, atmospheric piece of work.
Violenzia Domestica is a strange, sometimes lovely Italiano-flavored dispute thing that eventually gets a bit ugly. Mike then pours out a bit of his (or someone's) heart in After School Special, revealing a childhood filled with an abusive father and an uhh... 'understanding and supportive' Mother. Phlegmatics meanders through avant-jazzy terrain, with free-form structure and flowing jams.
Ma Meeshka Ma Skwoz, at times, is the closest this band has come to sounding like Frank Zappa, with some very nice ska/Oingo Boingo-isms thrown about for good measure. This band's excellent musicianship is in full display here.
The strangest track here, The Bends is one that cannot easily be described. The next number (my favorite) Backstrokin' seems to be a continuation of it, and both must be heard to be understood, if not believed. Ambient, episodic, surreal and disturbing are a few descriptives which apply here.
To give you an idea, here is the list of sub-sections which comprise The Bends:
a) Man Overboard
b) The Drowning Flute
c) Aqua Swing
d) Follow The Bubbles
e) Duet For Guitar and Oxygen Tank
f) Nerve Damage
g) Screaming Bends
h) Panic
i) Love On The Event Horizon
j) Re-Entry
Trust me: engraft this outre masterpiece along with Backstrokin' into your grey matter, in the dark/ on the floor via a good set of headphones; you will never again be the same complacent, mundane person you once were.
Platypus is another enjoyable 'Jazzy' entry- playful, witty and spastic. The disk closes with what is one of Mr. Bungle's catchiest yet most annoying songs in Merry Go Bye-Bye. It begins innocently enough -- all endearing and cheesy-sounding, and then suddenly bursts into a cacophonous racket. Soon after this, it thrashes like a bastard. Eventually, it simply collapses and transmogrifies into a grotesque and unbearable clamor. Just as the insanity threshold is approached, the song takes yet another sharp turn and becomes a bit melancholy and yet quite serene -- a fitting way to finalize such an intriguing, extraordinary album. (if you don't count the ten-odd minutes of shenanigans & tomfoolery found in the 'hidden ending')
A plea: When you are through listening, I call upon each of you to join me in a humble prayer questing that this particular band continue to make albums for all of time. Thanks.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Waking up
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Epinions.com ID:
tangento
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Location: Coon Rapids, MN USA
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
"I see holes like eyes; my head is full of them".
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