Today's review comes courtesy of Cam Paulik; a big fan of Meat Puppets, and even bigger fan of Beezy Listening.
(Megaforce, 2011)
Legendary cow punkers the Meat Puppets have released their 13th studio album and it did not disappoint. Lollipop is the third release since the Kirkwood brother’s reunion and the line-up has changed since 2009’s Sewn Together. Joining Curt and Cris is Shandon Sham, taking the place of Ted Marcus on drums. Band leader Curt Kirkwood now resides in Austin, Texas, but still conjures up the sun drenched desert imagery which coloured seminal albums Meat Puppets II and Up on the Sun.
Lollipop starts with the track Incomplete, which is somewhat of a departure for the band. Replacing the classic guitar/bass duel is Cris Kirkwood on synthesizer. Curt’s soothing mellow vocals make their return however and this is a solid opener. The vocals remain consistently laid back for all twelve tracks, something Curt has utilised since their return in 2007 with Rise to Your Knees. The melodies are there but I can’t tell whether it’s a combination of Curt and Cris or Curt and his dubbed self. Meatheads can rejoice further when the searing psychedelic solos of yesteryear resurface.
Baby Don’t is reminiscent of a more upbeat George Jones track and is my pick for the album. Cris’s bass line is wonderful here and wouldn’t be amiss on their 1985 classic Up on the Sun. The puppets continue to test the country waters with Town. This is one of the more earnest tracks on the album as you can detect vulnerability in the vocals. In Damn Thing, Curt manages to maintain his mellow brilliance amongst fast paced twanging that Neil Young would be proud of. These forays into the country style capture the Meat Puppets at their brilliant best and are highlights of the album.
With Lollipop the enigmatic Meat Puppets deliver an album full of the variety they are famous for. It’s never easy to pin them down to one style and the mixture of acoustic-electric guitaring asserts this. For a Meat Puppets album this latest offering is surprisingly accessible. The songs mostly stay south of the four minute mark and feature catchy riffs, light-hearted song writing, and Sahm’s up tempo drumming. Lollipop is a must for Meat Puppets fans and also recommended to those unacquainted with the trio.
