Deconstructing Melvins
Nick | 09/30/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Melvins have been doing things their way for 25 years, and from the looks of it, they don't intend to stop. Even though they've had to deal with a constantly shifting lineup and a number of label changes, the Melvins have always remained true to their vision. So, when I first heard about a possible Melvins remix album six years ago I knew that the Melvins would release an album that twists the preconceived notions of what a remix album should be, I just didn't know how they would go about doing it. Well, now that Chicken Switch has finally been released, I do know. You see, unlike most remix albums, The Melvins gave each artist an entire album to reconstruct and condense into a 5 minute song. Also, unlike most albums of this sort, the remixers are not a collection of hip-hop and electronica artists. Instead, the artists who provide remixes on this disc mainly operate within the confines of underground experimental genres. So, rather than releasing an album of 4/4 kick-snare patterns lazily thrown under chopped up vocal melodies, the Melvins have given us a jagged, stuttering sound collage that will leave you disoriented by the time the last track ends.
Below I'll do a track by track review. Most of these remixes take great liberties with the Melvins' material, so I will not be able to tell you exactly what each track is a remix of.
1. Yamatsuka Eye: Washmachine Sk8tronics - Chicken Switch opens with a remix by the front man of acid/punk/psychedelic/noise/whatever band the Boredoms. The track begins with the sound of pouring water which then leads into a driving drum beat and a chugging guitar peppered with swirling noises. The beat fades out, leaving just the swirling noises. The drums then return, though this time they are skittering and skipping. The guitars and drums return to their original form, until the guitar is overtaken by high pitched noises until the end of the song. The song brings to mind eYe's solo noise works, as well as the Boredoms' Super Roots 3 album.
2. Christoph Heeman: Emperor Twaddle Remix - The track begins as an ambient drone adorned with light guitar plucks and electronic tones. The song slowly increases in volume and cymbals start fading into the mix, gradually building intensity. Finally, the song descends into a torrent of electronic blips, guitar shredding and merciless drum pounding.
3. V/VM: She Chokes Her Dying Breath and Does It In My Face - Plodding drums and guitars are assaulted with what sound like manipulated screams and heavy doses of static, and then slowly fades into 45 seconds of lo-fi string synthesizers and quiet static.
4.John Duncan: AAHHH... - It is easiest to recognize the songs used on this track. The track opens with a droning guitar riff lifted from the Lysol album and is paired with rumbling drums that slightly pan from one speaker to the next. The song then abruptly cuts to a low, throbbing sound which then fades into a high pitched tone and chopped up whispers jumping from one speaker to the other
5. Matmos: Linksander - A minimal electronic song with a danceable beat, soft synths, ambient glitches and a mellow bassline that slowly builds layers and becomes more intense as it goes. At one point a droning guitar loop invades the song and different glitchy noises and echoing samples slither around in the mix. Although there are many different, generally high-pitched sounds incorporated into the mix I'd still say that this track is one of the more soothing moments on the album. I'd call it psychedelic dance music.
6. Lee Ranaldo: Eggnog Trilogy - Another track that closely resembles the original album. Essentially, the track is more or less a bunch of abrupt cuts between different parts of the original album.
7.Merzbow: SNOW REM REM IBVZ - Begins with a slow, heavily distorted beat, which is then joined in by an equally distorted guitar loop and layers of feedback. Eventually the guitar loop and the beat slightly change and then the beat drops out entirely, leaving only the guitar loop. Suddenly some sound constantly changing pitch pops up and then turns into a sustained note while up beat drum samples and fuzzy noises abruptly cut in and out of the mix. The music combines elements of Merzbow's beat-oriented work with his signature wall of impenetrable sound
8. David Scott Stone: Prick Concrete/Revolution M - A singular sustained vocal is layered over itself endlessly, creating a drone reminiscent of throat singing practiced by Buddhist monks.
9.Panacea: Queen (Electroclash remix) - This song is the most standard sounding remix. Basically it's just samples from the Stoner Witch album reformatted into an electronic dance song. If someone told me two years ago that there's a Melvins dance remix I think I would've thought of it as a terrible idea, but this track actually works really well.
10. Sunroof!: The Silky Apple Butter of Youth - The track is essentially an organ like drone with some sounds quietly playing in the background.
11. Kawabata Makoto: 4th Floor Hellcopter: A repetitive drum beat plays in tandem with lo-fi guitars and then all hell breaks loose.
A swarm of samples that have been stretched and warped in a variety of ways fly between the speakers at rapid speed. This is one of the best tracks on the album. It sounds like Kawabata took his approach to guitar playing and applied it to samples.
12. Farmersmanual: disp_tx_skel_mach_murx - Fragments of sound churn and bubble for the duration of the track. It's really hard to describe this one. It sounds as if someone smashed a bunch of Melvins songs into dust and then threw them into the wind.
13. Void Manes: Overgoat - high pitched sounds are paired with Night Goat's bassline which then gives way to reversed echoed vocals, and skipping drums. The track then makes quick changes between heavy drum patterns and strange atmospheric noise.
14. RLW: Over From Under the Dog Girl & Boy Treatment - a high sustained tone plays and is eventually paired with some ambient noises and some slow-yet-heavy drums and guitar. the drum and guitar jam disappears and then reappears in various manipulated forms throughout the mix. All the while, the sustained tone plays throughout the track, only changing slightly
15. $peedranch: Hard Revenge Milly Bloody Battle VS The Melvins Ozmatized Gore Police - A variety of sounds, including drum beats, guitar riffs, feedback, static, and movie samples are strung together and played at rapid speeds. This is easily the most chaotic track, since it only focuses on a sound for a couple of seconds before switching to another completely unrelated sound. It kind of sounds like switching radio stations at rapid speeds.
All in all, Chicken Switch, although not essential, is still an interesting and worthwhile addition to the Melvins catalog. I would not recommend this album to anyone who hasn't heard the Melvins before, because it's abrasive and, for the most part, doesn't sound like typical Melvins in the slightest. The album is really for diehard fans who have heard most of their discography and it will definitely appeal to fans of Colossus of Destiny and Prick."
Amazing Headphone Mayhem
Somnos | 10/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD might be challenging for Melvins fans who have a hard time digesting the more experimental elements of the band, but it's a rewarding listen and probably the best "remix" album I've ever heard. If you listen on headphones you'll be amazed at what's going on here. Unlike typical remix projects, you're not getting techno megamixes - you are getting a behemoth chunk of gristly noise and violent soundscapes, interspersed with gauzy ambience.
I see it as a gateway for Melvins listeners to discover some of the obscure noiseniks onboard, and for fans of experimental music to approach the Melvins while bypassing the METAL stereotypes.
If you are feeling adventurous, give CHICKEN SWITCH a try. It may set you on a path of discovering other fantastic music that you didn't even know existed. There are plenty of sample to hear online to help you make up your mind.
Definitely recommended for fans of Boredoms, Merzbow, Nurse with Wound, P16.D4, HNAS, Sunn O))), Throbbing Gristle."
On The Fence
David N. Knottnerus | Somewhere in Iraq | 10/17/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This album is infectious, and I really can't stop listening to it. Maybe I'm just fascinated. It really doesn't matter, It reminds alot of the broken to downward spiral remix albums, maybe that's why there's a part of me that thinks some of these tracks could have been done a little better considering each artist had a whole album of source material to work with for each track. I was thinking something along the lines of The Beatles' LOVE Album, but with a definite Melvins' feel. On second thought maybe that's what I got. It's good, I just think they could have been a little bit more creative with some of these tracks. "Hard Revenge Milly Bloody Battle VS. The Melvins Ozmatized Gore Police" is my favorite track so far, and I'm thinking of using it to torture my roomate with while he sleeps."
