Melvins – Nude With Boots[Ipecac; 07/07/2008]
Where do you start with the Melvins? Bullhead or perhaps Stoner Witch. They say look to the future, so maybe that's all we've got time for today. That's right, the Melvins have another record out; the second with Big Business' Coady Willis (drums) and Jared Warren (bass); the latest duo to accompany avant-garde stoner warriors, Buzz Osbounre and Dale Crover. The double marriage seems to have payed off, as Nude With Boots measures up to the peak the Melvins' current crop of work.
'The Kicking Machine' and 'Billy Fish' could be mistaken for a backstage scuffle between Zeppelin and Sabbath, with Buzz Osbourne reveling in the peacemaking process. 'Dog Island' posses a murky sludge cloud, with spacey chord progressions featured low down in the mix, while Osbourne's transcending growl rises from the bellows.
'The Smiling Cobra' is the Melvins at the top of their game, with riffage that perpetually explodes and reaps assault to your ears. The title track shifts in abundance, with a platform that could be described as Dinosaur Jr jamming around after a hard session on the drink, realising their potential to be a stoner rock collective.
Nude With Boots takes some time to hit you with its full force. Crover's disjointed skin smashing is ever prominent while Willis fuses energy to the rhythm section along with his BB bandmate, Warren, refreshing the elements of the Melvins canon. Osbourne is the trump card, mixing his stoner riffola with that trademark haze of vocal gloom that make the Melvins what they truly are. We can coin them with various terms, but make no bones about it; at the end of the day rock 'n' roll prevails. It's just that the Melvins present it in its more fucked up entirety.
By Simon K
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