Search - Mr. Bungle :: California

Let me describe the Mr. Bungle "California" experience.

Adam Pearson | Nowhere, OH, USA | 01/25/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Here's what would likely happen if you fell asleep listening to this album.



You are drifting away into a dream, except its not a dream. Something about this dream is familiar..as if you've dreamed about a long time ago as child, which seems like centuries ago. You are in the late 2000's (as the people in the 1950's envisioned it). It is not crowded though, rather the population has heavily decreased. But right now you are on a tropical island, feeling as if your high, but not from drugs.from something else. You feel like a child again. Its as if your in a dream. You have no worries. You are in a dream like state, until something awakes you. You are all the sudden thrown into this mass hysteria of a city in Metropolis. people are flying around seemingly trying to get somewhere but just rushing aimlessly. Almost as if you are some sort of cartoon. Then, you are lifted up into the sky, as a dreamy ballad floats you up through the sky. the day turns into night, the sky turns green. you are floating among the stars in a universe you couldn't even describe. You feel so small, like an infant. Then, you fall back down to earth, and you find another human being! another human! He sings to you, the world breaks out into a musical, your not sure what he's saying. but you feel relief anyways. But then, that relief is gone. You are all of a sudden in a panicked state. you are alone, but your not at the same time. You are running through a dark maze, and you see grotesque smiling heads appearing randomly out of thin air, and they are laughing at you. It is a nightmare that your desperately trying to wake up from. And everywhere you turn, you are terrified of another floating head popping up (even though they can't do anything to you, just their presence causes terror).

Finally, the album ends.

"

VINYL reissue

Dr. Astronaut Body | America, U.S.A. | 09/29/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"A brilliant album, of course. But like the notorious vinyl reissue of the first Bungle album, this is not a good purchase. The mastering is extremely quiet; I found I had to turn the volume to nearly twice the level that my turntable normally requires, and because of that, the sound distorts. Some might say that this is necessary because of the way the album was recorded (multi-tracked, full-frequency, etc), but I don't think this is the case. It's a shame, because this album was clearly destined for vinyl (ten songs in 45 minutes, the 60s-style cover, etc). Warner Bros. should have done it themselves back in 1999, but oh well."

My favorite album of all time! Please don't pass this up.

Dustin B. Steinacker | 04/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mr. Bungle's interpretation of The Golden State is at once familiar and shockingly new. This soulful, dangerous album's finest moments often connote an image of the California portrayed by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, but touched by a melancholic madness and sense of confident adventure that sets this apart as an entirely new creation.



So the best tracks - "Retrovertigo", "Pink Cigarette" - are genuinely sweet but unsettling, working as impactful, vocal-driven pop, yet at the edges of their composition lurks a twisted subversion that lends them a depth you'll find in few other records. On California Mr. Bungle hones their eclectic chops to precision, creating a record as visionary, scattered and organic as anything this gifted crew (including the venerable Mike Patton) has ever worked on. Oh - and the lyrics are as perfect as any I've seen.



On this, their last and finest album, Mr. Bungle breaks the mold on every track, from the hellfire-tinged cautionary rockabilly number "None of Them Knew They Were Robots", the funky, creepy "Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy", the steady, cinematic "The Holy Filament" or the heavy, technical Arab thrash of "Ars Moriendi". Every track is killer and this album has nary a wasted moment. With so much fine music to consider, I unhesitatingly call this my favorite record of all time.



You want this album - you just don't know it yet."