A double Melvins album this year, Low Flying Hawks (Which features Dale Crover, review coming soon), AND a Dale Crover solo record this year? Is there such a thing as too much Crover?? I guess we’re about to find out…
A curious conundrum of quality musical concoctions from one of the masters of weird (I fondly remember an Ozzfest Melvins performance that ended in a wall of feedback and Crover standing at the mic in only undies screaming incoherently), The Fickle Finger Of Fate is a fitting voyage into the mind of Dale Crover.
Opener “Chicken Ala King” might be what you’d expect from the legendary skin basher but don’t be fooled as many of The Fickle Finger… drum-centric tracks serve as interludes to the contained lunacy within. Think late Butthole Surfers (Independent Worm Saloon on) or anything the Melvins has put out from the mid-’90’s on as a starting point.
“Bad Move” is a bad mammer jammer of a space rawk anthem, “Hillbilly Math” sounds just like the title implies, and “Little Brother” is like an unearthed gem lost by The Moody Blues in the ’60’s.
At times, The Fickle Finger… feels like a soundtrack to the greatest movie never made, pieced together with a sonic needle and thread like Lou Barlow’s masterful Kids soundtrack. Other times, it’s like that puzzle piece that you keep forcing into place even though you just know it doesn’t really fit.
“Big ‘Uns” is a bass-driven ditty that could easily be the featured jam off a classic blaxsploitation flick of the ’70’s while “Prismo” follows (Please be inspired by the Adventure Time character!) offering a percussive interlude before the acoustical title track veers the album off in even more new directions. “Thunder Pinky” is like the T. Rex classic “Bang a Gong” at times and, eventually, “I Found The Way Out” drops and quirkily ends the album with Crover’s angelic delivery guiding you out.
The Fickle Finger of Fate is out through Joyful Noise on August 4th and what joyful noise this album is. Hear for yourself by pre-ordering a copy of your own here or here. Crover can currently be seen on tour with (the) Melvins. For dates and more head on over here.