Posts from — May 2010

When I first mentioned that I thought I might have a chance to listen to the impending Melvins release, The Bride Screamed Murder, I got a message from fellow Melvins buff and Australian photographer to the rock stars, Angelo Kehagias, which I think perfectly summed up what every Melvins fan wonders before any new release:

Is it a proper balls to the wall sludgefest … ???

Yes sir, it is. The Melvins have their balls to the wall within the first seconds of The Bride Screamed Murder, their third studio album in their current incarnation as a four piece, two parts Melvins, two parts Big Business.

What I like most about the most current Melvins lineup is the inclusion of Jared Warren, a vocalist who can more than hold his own with King Buzzo, which means Melvins fans get treated to call and response vocals, perfected here on the opening track ’The Water Glass’.

What I like second most about the lineup is how beefy everything sounds with two drummers and I’m absolutely dying to see this live. The last Melvins tour of Australia in 2009 happened as a happy by-product of the Fantômas tour, so the side shows the Melvins did were Buzz and Dale, with ring-in Trevor Dunn on bass. Excellent show, one of the best I saw that year, but I’ve been on the YouTubes and I know that I need to see this band live properly.

Witness, ‘The Bit’, the opening track from the album Stag. This is just a really poorly recorded live version, but you can just tell that it’s moved from amazing to insanely good live with two drummers:

The Bride Screamed Murder at times feel like a throwback to ’70s stadium rock, particularly the melodic guitar moments, but along come the Easter eggs, if you will, of most Melvins albums, like the last minute and a half of ‘Hospital Up’, which is filled with plunking piano and a noise that sounds like someone letting air out of a balloon, or torturing a plastic duck. Or maybe torturing a plastic duck with a balloon.

Another treat comes in the form of a cover of The Who’s famous track ‘My Generation’. The Melvins slow it right down, the intro a meandering bass line, the vocals delivered with an authentic disinterest, before the guitar and drums slowly fade to sound like a bell blowing in the wind.

Probably the biggest surprise comes in the final track, ‘P.G. x 3′, which opens with a lone harmonica, then a wistful and melodic vocal about lonesome valleys and mankind. Fear not, it goes all Laurie Anderson weird before the album suddenly ends.

To be sure there’s a formula to the Melvins, but it’s not a bad thing when it allows them to continue to produce the music fans know and love, and surprise them every single time, with little twists and unexpected interludes. The Bride Screamed Murder feels like the band are stretching their legs a little after two fairly solidly beefy albums [2006's (A) Senile Animal and 2008's Nude With Boots].

The album is out on June 1, once again through Ipecac Recordings and I for one will be snapping it up!

Today I went to Shark Island, which is in Sydney Harbour.

Apparently it looks like the shape of a shark, but I’d prefer to think that it’s because it’s surrounded by hungry, hungry sharks.

The picnic that we had was to celebrate three things: the third wedding anniversary of my older sister, Mary and her husband, Drew; Drew’s 30th birthday, which was back in February, and the three month birthday of their son, Vincent.

Oh Vincent.

Mary and Drew both only have sisters, so bar my younger sister’s husband, Joel, Vincent only has aunts.

And he is a big hit with said aunts.

Here he is with Aunt Steve. Aunt Steve who is leaving the country on July 4, for just over six months. When she gets back, it’s not entirely unfeasible that V will be … three foot tall. I’m only kinda kidding. You will see a lot of V here in those six months so Steve and Joel can keep up-to-date with the happenings of V. And because he’s redunkulously cute.

This is V and Aunt Nina. Nina is Drew’s younger sister. Drew and Nina have an older sister, Liga, who lives in Canada now. Because she chooses to live in Canada [and yes, I'm envious], she only gets two weeks annual leave a year, so she’s not yet been able to meet V. That is also why I post a lot of pics of him, because by the time Liga meets him, V could be … five foot tall.

Nina doesn’t live in NSW, but I’m hoping V is enough of an attraction to get her to visit more, because Nina is the bomb.

Aw! It’s me and V! I told Mary yesterday that I was going to be in a nautical theme for our time on the island, and could she please dress V to match. I think she did a pretty good job!

I seriously, ridiculously love this kid. Even when he’s eight foot tall I’m going to be pinching his cheeks.

Naw, de baby!

Most of my fam are over six foot, myself included. To me, V looked baby-sized. If anyone had asked me how big he was, I’d have said ‘He’s just a baby-sized baby, you know? Small, kinda chubby, drooly and funny, but baby-sized’.

Then V met Oliver. This is V and Oliver [who V loved, I might add]:

Two fairly similar sized babies, in fact, I think Oliver might be slightly smaller.

V is three months younger than Oliver.

Join the club, kid.