The Melvins The Bulls & The Bees/Electroretard Review: dual release of band’s 2001/2012 efforts go swimmingly well together.
[rating=5]
Following on the heels of 2014’s excellent Butthole Surfers collaboration Hold It In, The Melvins have another treat in store for longtime fans. On June 2nd, 2015 Ipecac Recordings will be jointly reissuing the band’s 2001 album Electroretard, along with 2012’s Scion A/V’s digital EP The Bulls and The Bees.
The pairing feels quite natural, with odds and ends dovetailing satisfyingly. The Bulls and The Bees features tracks like the Sabbathy The War On Wisdom which makes great use of dual drummers Dale Crover and Big Business percussionist Coady Willis.
The five song collection offers a surprisingly versatile bit of material: We Are Doomed is vintage Melvins sludge with a killer riff from frontman/guitarist Buzz Osborne, A Really Long Wait is spectral space rock, and Friends Before Larry offers epic Middle Eastern soundscapes.
Electroretard features alternate mixes of Melvin’s classics as well as a handful of covers. It kicks off with Shit Storm, a backmasked version of Revolve (from 1994’s Stoner Witch). A remake of that track is also included, taking it away from its original fuzzy form and adding creepy synth tendrils and watery guitar runs.
Their cover of The Wipers‘ Youth Of America is a piss and vinegar anthem that goes almost ten minutes yet never feels like filler. The rest of the album is more psychedelic in nature, featuring songs with trippy electronic textures like their cover of Pink Floyd’s Interstellar Overdrive, or the eerie Cows’ tune Missing which begins with Osborne’s appropriately oddball spoken intro: He had to switch to gin because Jågermeister was giving him the shakes!
Click here for my 2013 interview with Buzz Osborne
For Melvin’s diehards clamoring for either of these previously out of print releases in physical or digital format, this is a no-brainer to round out their collection: two great tastes that go down perfectly in one bite. (A vinyl release is also pending: I’ll announce the release date as soon as its official).
Want to own The Bulls & The Bees/Electroretard on CD or MP3 from Amazon or iTunes? You can pre-order via the links below. And click here for their 2015 tour dates.
[amazon_image id=”B00W34US94″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Bulls & The Bees / Electroretard[/amazon_image]