Mr. Bungle’s California is perhaps the zaniest piece of work I’ve heard in a very long time. So what in the world is a Mr. Bungle? Well, you may recognize lead man Mike Patton from his more famous coupling with Faith No More. Mr. Bungle was Patton’s first band, which he formed with high school friends. Patton came back to Mr. Bungle to express his more, well, experimental side. Their latest release, California, is as experimental as anything they’ve released to date, so experimental that it is certain to go over everyone’s heads. I’m not sure that it hasn’t gone way over mine.
“Sweet Charity” starts the album off with a bang. Well, not a big bang, more like a little firecracker that has enough power to tear down buildings. “Retrovertigo” is an awesome display of Mr. Bungle’s understated power.
“The Air-Conditioned Nightmare” is one of the tracks that seems to express Mr. Bungle’s love for surf music, and Brian Wilson in particular. They defiantly tread to way back when, as in Pet Sounds and “Heroes and Villians”. “Ars Moriendi” gives in to a crazy Arabian Nights theme and dances into the darker skies, while “Pink Cigarette” continues in the same vein. The lyrics are mostly incomprehensible. They are so low under the instrumentation that listening too hard may strain you. But I can say that the lounge singer style mixed with the Texan bass lick will scratch your throat and tickle your belly. Call this avant-bizarre. Call it whatever you must. It is sure to find you awed.
The best song is “Vanity Fair”. Just think Grease crossing eyes with a ’90’s flair. Hey, who said that Mr. Bungle couldn’t bop with the best of them? Not I.
I don’t know what to say about this album. It is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. These guys have talent. Is it useful? I don’t know. Maybe if they concentrated on more accessible tunes they’d appeal to the masses and score themselves a hit. But what fun would that be? Mr. Bungle’s appeal is their musical irreverence. It is so unappealing to your pop music mind that you’ll feel completely conflicted. Besides, who cares about hits.
+ rae gun
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.