Meat Puppets - II


6x****
Surprisingly clean and dry production let the good and the bad shine equally. "Split Myself In Two"**** is sloppy but focused, an imperfect burst of energy. "Plateau"****, as popularized by Nirvana follows with its eerie melody and rustic sound as open and desolate as the title, and "Lake Of Fire"**** is demonically creepy. There is a heavy country influence in some songs, such as the happy, hooky "Lost" and "Climbing", ."The Whistling Song" has an almost Eagles Heartache Tonight bar rock feel. The last third of the album is mostly instrumental, which for the most part are not the strongest tracks, though "Aurora Borealis"**** (the first one) finds a great guitar tone for its casually delivered hooks, while "I'm A Mindless Idiot" is similarly catchy. The pickin on "Magic Toy Missing"**** is ridiculously fast, no doubt inspired by Zeppelin's Hot Dog. "What To Do"**** is the prefect carefree anthem for the village idiot. When the melodies are not strong the monochromatic drumming and overall sound become issues, although there is a wide range covered between country and punk, and it's there's nothing to be taken too seriously to spoil the fun.

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