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Smegma, "Rumblings"
The ever revolving cast of characters that form Smegma grew out of theLos Angeles Free Music Society in the mid-70s and has not stoppedreocrding or performing since. This, however, is their first "proper"album in over ten years. Rumblingsincludes a cast of familiar characters, but also includes the infamousRichard Meltzer (known for his writing and for his involvement in theBlue Oyster Cult).Hanson
Limited to 1000 copies and coupled with a video forthe song "Rails," Rumblings jumps back and forth between tapemanipulation, screwy free-verse adventures, recognizable musicalarrangements, and playful sound collages constructed from metallicscrapes, diseased brass instruments, and typical commercials. Theresult is a little bit like flipping through various televisionstations, but with the ability to find a red thread through the chaosof comedies, cartoons, and documentaries. The first few tracks promiseall of this before some of the collages start to become dull and themiddle portion of the album begins to drag through some directionlessbits of space noise. "Rails (uncoupled)" and "Moonleggs" pick up where"Johnny No!" left of and luckily things only get better from thatpoint. Smegma are best when they attach their own particular brand ofsurrealism and nonsense to the traditional rock stylings of the 50s and60s. "Moonleggs" crosses tropical guitar chords with a spool of brokenspeech samples and distorted horn moans before giving into theprimitive and galactic energy of "Smoke," which mingles absurd lyricswith a propulsive bass line and drum performance. The end of the albumfeels far more cohesive than the beginning and almost feels as if itwere meant to stand alone from everything else on the disc. "Rumblings"and "Supersimple" continue the guitar and noise ethos with bothconsideration and aimless abandon. The continuous metamorphoses thateach track exhibits is intoxicating and by the end of the album I feellike I've had some strange psychedelic experience. Despite something ofa slow start, Rumblings is a lot of fun and it does nothing butget better with each listen. "Rails" is the kind of song that I wishcould be extended into a 20 minute freak out of curving noise and vocaldestruction, even if that meant less tape splicing were to appear.Those tracks just seem distracting after hearing the thump and growl oftheir jam sessions.
Limited to 1000 copies and coupled with a video forthe song "Rails," Rumblings jumps back and forth between tapemanipulation, screwy free-verse adventures, recognizable musicalarrangements, and playful sound collages constructed from metallicscrapes, diseased brass instruments, and typical commercials. Theresult is a little bit like flipping through various televisionstations, but with the ability to find a red thread through the chaosof comedies, cartoons, and documentaries. The first few tracks promiseall of this before some of the collages start to become dull and themiddle portion of the album begins to drag through some directionlessbits of space noise. "Rails (uncoupled)" and "Moonleggs" pick up where"Johnny No!" left of and luckily things only get better from thatpoint. Smegma are best when they attach their own particular brand ofsurrealism and nonsense to the traditional rock stylings of the 50s and60s. "Moonleggs" crosses tropical guitar chords with a spool of brokenspeech samples and distorted horn moans before giving into theprimitive and galactic energy of "Smoke," which mingles absurd lyricswith a propulsive bass line and drum performance. The end of the albumfeels far more cohesive than the beginning and almost feels as if itwere meant to stand alone from everything else on the disc. "Rumblings"and "Supersimple" continue the guitar and noise ethos with bothconsideration and aimless abandon. The continuous metamorphoses thateach track exhibits is intoxicating and by the end of the album I feellike I've had some strange psychedelic experience. Despite something ofa slow start, Rumblings is a lot of fun and it does nothing butget better with each listen. "Rails" is the kind of song that I wishcould be extended into a 20 minute freak out of curving noise and vocaldestruction, even if that meant less tape splicing were to appear.Those tracks just seem distracting after hearing the thump and growl oftheir jam sessions. samples:
