Well I plum fucked up folks. I'm a day late on my reviews due to a crazy work schedule and other stuff. So this is gonna be less extravagant than expected. Let me start by saying I used to love DEAD KENNEDYS and I dig on the MELVINS as well. Let me also say that this had prospects of being really great or a ho hum affair ala the Jello/DOA album. The jury is still out but I can safely say it doesn't look good for the defendant. Let me explain the case to you.

Mr. Biafra is a well respected member of the "punk community". He's well-loved by many to the point where the man could fart into a microphone and sell thousands of copies world wide. The MELVINS fall into the same category. Both have been guilty of putting out albums that came close to the previously mentioned fart record. This one is pretty close to being it. The MELVNIS seem somewhat bored here. They are a band that can either be amazing in intensity or overindulgent and complacent. A lot of this record sounds like a forced attempt at playing punk rock. Jello takes this opportunity to grand stand his politics and pat himself on the back for being so bright and witty. Sure, he makes some valid points but I don't listen to records for smarmy lectures. Some of the lyrics are so bad I laughed. He's desperate for another Reagan to lash out at. He needs a new muse to ridicule and the current situation our country is in seems to be where he's looking. This is all well and good, but his voice doesn't hold up to slower music. His best achievements were his demented carnival-barker moments over the breakneck circus music the KENNEDYS laid down on their early records. The speed just isn't here and when it is, it's dulled by the metal in the guitars. You just can't get a good hardcore punk sound out of downtuned guitars.

- Two Tub Tony

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