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Weston - Return To Mono
Aug. 19th, 2009 12:53 pm
ETA: Upon further inspection (I only just got my copy of this album yesterday) I think it's better than my first impression was of it. Thus, i bumped it up to a 7 out of 10.
( I am different! )
ETA: Upon further inspection (I only just got my copy of this album yesterday) I think it's better than my first impression was of it. Thus, i bumped it up to a 7 out of 10.
( I am different! )
Singer Mark Arm has described Five Dollar Bob's Mock Cooter Stew as an opportunity to "get new music out to the fans between albums." It consists of seven tracks, four of which were brand new, two of which were released as b-sides to singles, and one is a re-recording of a prviously available song. The five new recordings were all finished in the span of about 45 minutes, but don't come off sounding rushed. Instead these songs exude intimacy, and a sense of levity.
The E.P. opens with "In The Blood", a drudging "ballad" of sorts with organ flares that complement the sloppy meandering of the band. "No Song III" is a youthful, punk-y whirlwind splattered with drummer Dan Peters' signature fills and flourishes. The country-western tinged "Between You and Me Kid" is fun and irreverent. It showcases the band's expanding arsenal of styles, and helps cement that Mudhoney is a lot more than just a "grunge" band. On the other end of the spectrum, "Six Two One" is about as classic-sounding Mudhoney as you can get. Piece of Cake's "Make It Now" appears here in re-recorded form as "Make It Now Again". (This song got its name from an experience Arm and Turner had in traffic. An ambulance was trying to cut through, and the driver got on a loudspeaker and shouted "Make a hole! Make it wide! Make it now!") Here, the song is sped up a few bpm's, and the muddy psychadelia accented a little more. This song is the first incarnation of a sound Mudhoney would perfect on Since We've Become Transluscent. The last two tracks, "Deception Pass" and "Underride" are peppy little alterna-rock numbers that are enjoyable, but sound like. . .well, like b-side material.
Five Dollar Bob's Mock Cooter Stew definitely rocks at some points, but overall, the feel of this E.P. is fun. The band even had fun in the writing of the liner notes. Producer Kurt Bloch is listed as "Curt" and "Kurdt", a little jab at Kurt Cobain who was known for purposely misspelling his name in liner notes. Fortunately they got this joke off when they did, as jokes about Cobain would become taboo just months later.
Five Dollar Bob's Mock Cooter Stew - 7 out of 10
