For his first post-
Primus solo studio release,
Les Claypool sounds exactly like...
Les Claypool. That's certainly not a surprise. He uses core members of his touring
Frog Brigade, such as longtime drummer
Jay Lane, guitarist Eenor, saxophonist
Skerik, and percussionist
Mike Dillon. It is this latter musician who provides much aid in adding depth to
Claypool's slaphappy sound, infusing the songs with shimmering vibraphone counterpoints.
Claypool himself is in particularly fine and playful form, with the winged monkeys-like chant at the center of "David Makalaster" and the socially conscious stoned wisdom of "Ding Dong." The music isn't nearly as edgy or angular as his work with
Primus, but that's ultimately okay. Guitarist Eenor provides a slightly more accessible (though still utterly weird) guitar complement to
Claypool than his
Primus counterpart,
Larry LaLonde. This isn't simply watered down
Primus, though. Rather (unlike his work on
Oysterhead's
Grand Pecking Order),
Claypool's arrangement skills seem to have finally matured to meet his songwriting, with things like a small string section on the
Primus-referential "Barrington Hall" and
Warren Haynes' trying-slightly-too-hard-to-sound-bent slide on the hillbilly stomp of "Buzzards of Green Hill." Other guests pop up elsewhere, such as drummer Fish Fisher of
Fishbone ("Whamola") and bassist
Lonnie Marshall of "Weapon of Choice" ("D's Diner"). ~ Jesse Jarnow