Perhaps the name Altamont isn't ringing any bells. How about Dale Crover? If the answer is still an emphatic 'no', then I am officially discouraged. Final clue: The Melvins. If the answer is still 'no', then I openly encourage you to take poison. 

Altamont is an outfit comprised of Dale Crover (ex-Melvins, ex-Nirvana), Dan Southwick, Joey Osbourne, Sasha Popovich, and Tashi Kasai. This rowdy quintet's latest effort, The Monkees' Uncle, features Crover not behind the drum kit, but rather at the helm of six strings and a pick. With a Rock and Roll heart at its center, The Monkees' Uncle is a humor heavy, fuzzed-out cast of the recent swell in the tide of the so-called garage revival--- only this particular train is being conducted by a sludge rock legend, who was waist deep in lo-fi experimentation well before its newfound appreciation took the indie universe by storm. 

Overall, the attack is face first. The Monkee's Uncle, for the most part, sports a hard rock skin, and at many points during the music, whirs with an enjoyable tenor of down-swing, boogie sleaze. Tracks "Frank Bank", "Bathroom Creep", and "Pedigree" aptly demonstrate this approach. In keeping with Dale Crover's modus operandi, the prevailing undertone of the recording is frequently tinged with sonic psychedelia.

"Dum Dum Fever", the third track, is a strong cut, with its skeleton straight out of the proto-metal play book. A dirty but crisp dirge paves the way for a interesting bit of stringy tremolo. "Look at the monkey, watch him dance, see him fall right on his ass."--- so croons Dale Crover, leading the song into a Sabbath-esque take down. "El Stupido" takes the fourth slot, and sits in the pit of one's gut as a guilty pleasure of sorts, largely due to its perverse, upbeat pop bouncing. The change moves into a collection of vocal phrasings which are eerily reminiscent of the late Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone), but Crover pulls it off nicely. 

The title track opens with lurid tales of ingested teeth and bowel movements, eventually rearing the rest of itself with a spurt of energy, lovingly glazed with ugly wheezes and guitar squelches, a 1-2 knockout drum count, and a heady, first wave punk temperament. "The Bloodening" boasts a decent slab of riffage that takes one back to the late 80s hardcore sound--- however the guitars are (for one reason or another) very subdued within the sound mix, and this takes a bit of potential steam out of its delivery.

The occasional foray into stoney, bleeping space electro-jams are average, if not mediocre--- more or less there for effect, rather than to induce real sensory impact--- in "Laughing Boy" and "Bull Ramus", for instance.

"Easter Sunday" is an utterly bottom-heavy, stoner-doom crunch out. Complete with a decent acoustic opening (some might call it an homage to early 70s Jimmy Page), the recording punches in, right around 0:45, with the aforementioned nasty business. What sounds akin to a wailing Hammond churns out chordal chaos in the background throughout, and the shut down commences with the obligatory lapse into white noise, Dale Crover style. The disc closes the show with a cover of The Screamers "In a Better World"--- nicely executed, with proper attitude and gusto... and a quirky but subtle organ track for good measure. 

Overall, The Monkees' Uncle delivers goods with an appropriate, hard Rock center--- but is also nuanced, sticky with high end bristle, bottom crunch effects, and a coarse touch of ugly white noise. 

Altamont - The Monkees' Uncle

Label:AntAcidAudio
Rating:90 Points on the DeadSun Scale

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