King Buzzo featuring Trevor Dunn ‘Gift of Sacrifice’ Review: Melvins frontman/guitarist keeps it weird on 2nd solo release.
On his 2014 solo debut This Machine Kills Artists, Melvins’ frontman/guitarist Buzz Osborne proved he could make his acoustic six-string sound just as heavy (and strange) as any menacing distorted riff he’s conjured in his formidable career.
Osborne is back with his second acoustic effort, Gift of Sacrifice (August 14, Ipecac), and it’s as rewarding and surprising as it’s predecessor, with the welcome addition of bassist (and frequent collaborator) Trevor Dunn (Mr Bungle, Fantomas, Melvins Lite).
The duo keep it sinister, weird and otherworldly, also adding modular synths to the mix, which the press release notes is an odd combination of sounds not heard before on an all acoustic record. This is correct, and adds a truly unique element to the proceedings.
Osborne and Dunn have a unique musical alchemy throughout the album, as evidenced on Housing Luxury Energy, approximating the sound of strings and howling animals amid Osborne’s melancholy strumming and bellowing vocals.
Single I’m Glad I Could Help is an aural horror story, where Osborne wails about being “9 years old” in a “nightmare” over a swampy blues riff and jazz-inflected bass.
There is s strong cinematic component to the song, from its eerie echoing arpeggios to its closing guitar stabs which recall Bernard Herrmann’s iconic shower scene score for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.
Delayed Clarity is another standout, featuring a sturdy strummed riff that anchors a shifting soundscape of buzzing e-bow and swirling electronics, climaxing with abrupt pummeling industrial spew.
While all of Gift of Sacrifice is of an experimental nature, Junkie Jesus qualifies as the most extreme of the bunch, with muffled, unintelligible backing vocals scatting over avant garde bursts of knotted sound.
Science in Modern America is a strong showcase for Dunn’s bass skills, expertly maneuvering around Osborne’s mammoth proggy riff and layered vocals. The track ends with what sounds like a demented carnival calliope (kinda fitting given Dunn’s Mr. Bungle affiliation).
Bird Animal is the most emotive song on the album, featuring a droning psychedelic riff that dovetails perfectly with Osborne’s flanged, sonorous vocals, while Mock She mixes up classic rock grandeur with elastic bass runs and dissonant textures, ending with distorted, stuttering vocals that sounds like a panicked distress signal from deep space.
Gift of Sacrifice’s eclectic nature should be of little surprise given both Osborne and Dunn’s distinct and offbeat musical pedigrees. And their lack of adherence to what typically comprises an acoustic album is both compelling and bracing. It’s also one of Osborne’s most emotive and intimate works, and one of the best albums of 2020.
