The Melvins ‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’ Review: The masters of heavy get heavier by doubling down on their bottom end.
[rating=3.5]
In 2016, The Melvins released Basses Loaded, an album featuring every bassist that has graced their lineup over the years, giving each their chance to shine.
Their latest album, Pinkus Abortion Technician, takes a new approach: using two bassists on each song.
Frontman and guitarist Buzz Osborne (aka King Buzzo) says in the band’s press release that “We’ve never had two bass players. We’ve had two drummers and two guitar players so it makes total sense to now have two bass players.”
And it’s this extra bottom end approach that make one of the heaviest bands in the world even heavier, and works to weird and wonderful effect.
The fourstring twosome in question are frequent collaborators Redd Kross’s Steve Macdonald and Butthole Surfers’ Jeff Pinkus (the album title is a play on words of that band’s classic album Locust Abortion Technician).
So what happens when you combine McDonald’s power pop background and Pinkus’s experimental roots with Osborne and drummer Dale Crover’s seismic sonics?A unique mix that takes the Melvin’s sound into new territory, including several unorthodox covers.
Take the oddball opener Stop Moving To Florida which melds the James Gang’s Stop with Butthole Surfers’ Moving To Florida, or the thick as molasses riffage of The Beatles’ I Want To Hold Your Hand.
Elsewhere the group conjure classic rock bombast on Break Bread, while Embrace the Rub is an engaging punk throwback.
The best track, however, is an exercise in restraint–Don’t Forget To Breathe is a low-key stunner, alternately hypnotizing and unnerving.
Pinkus Abortion Technician may not qualify as one of the band’s most seminal releases, but it’s definitely a good time-a groove laden, ground shaking affair that diehards will nod along to happily.
Tour dates:
April 26 San Diego, CA Casbah
April 27 Tucson, AZ The Rock
April 29 Dallas, TX Tree’s
April 30 Austin, TX Mohawk
May 1 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall
May 3 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
May 4 Birmingham, AL Zydeco
May 5 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
May 6 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theater
May 7 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
May 9 Baltimore, MD Ottobar
May 10 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts
May 11 Brooklyn, NY Warsaw
May 12 Hamden, CT Space Ballroom
May 13 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
May 14 Montreal, QC Corona Theatre
May 16 Toronto, ON Velvet Underground
May 18 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
May 19 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater
May 20 Louisville, KY Headliner’s Music Hall
May 22 Nashville, TN 3rd & Lindsley
May 23 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone
May 24 St. Louis, MO The Ready Room
May 25 Kansas City, MO Record Bar
May 26 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom
May 27 Norman, OK Opolis
May 29 Santa Fe, NM Meow Wolf
May 30 Flagstaff, AZ The Green Room
May 31 Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom
July 12 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
July 13 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
July 14 Fresno, CA Strummer’s
July 16 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
July 17 Sacramento, CA Holy Diver
July 19 Seattle, WA Neumo’s
July 20 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
July 21 Vancouver, BC Venue Nightclub
July 24 Edmonton, AB Union Hall
July 25 Calgary, AB Marquee Room
July 27 Winnipeg, MB Pyramid Cabaret
July 28 Fargo, ND The Aquarium (Dempsey’s Upstairs)
July 29 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
July 30 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
July 31 Chicago, IL Park West
August 2 Grand Rapids, MI The Pyramid Scheme
August 3 Detroit, MI El Club
August 4 Columbus, OH A&R Music Bar
August 5 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue Theatre
August 6 Rock Island, IL Rock Island Brewing Company
August 7 Des Moines, IA Wooly’s
August 8 Omaha, NE The Waiting Room
August 10 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
August 11 Ft. Collins, CO Aggie Theatre
August 13 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
August 14 Las Vegas, NV The Bunkhouse Saloon
August 16 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
Ipecac Recordings
20 April 2018
