Tales From the Punchbowl
The task: to explain to the uninitiated as well as those in the know what the new Primus record sounds like. Mission impossible. A discourse on quantum physics would probably make more sense. Weird, obviously, is a given. Reading Les Claypool's lyrics and listening to his Elmer Fudd vocals and indescribable slap-and-slash bass, one gets the sense that he's completely immersed in his own strange world. Though the album doesn't exclude the average listener (everyone is welcome!), those without an open mind will certainly feel as if they're missing the punch line of a particularly hilarious in-joke. Lovable and bizarre,Tales from the Punchbowlis a much fuller record than the band's previous release,Pork Soda. Guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander provide some of their finest work, and together this whack-assed trio deconstructs funk, prog rock, and metal into a neat little pile of junk that it reassembles into a variety of nutty musical caricatures.--Adem Tepedelen