Joe Preston

Part of triplet set in which each member of The Melvins(circa 1992) writes and performs all material.Anyone familiar with Joe Preston's output both with his own one-man band Thrones and collaborative projects with other bands(Sunn O))) and Earth to name two) will have some idea what to expect: in a word-oddball.The first curiosity,'The eagle has landed', is a tinny sounding piece of easy listing a little like something you might hear while on hold, with the sound of a querrelous child over it;the effect is unsettling and strange,welcome to the world of Joe Preston - embrace the weird.An apposite opening gambit.Second track 'Bricklebrit'most resembles Preston's Thrones material: distorted bass riffs over an erratic beatbox with a few samples thrown in.A sterling rocker of a tune but at barely two minutes duration it's criminally short; leave 'em wanting more...Final cut 'Hands first flower' is a 23 minute sludgefest reminiscent of Sunn O))) or early Earth.Doom drenched riffing plus eerie percussive noises and ethereal howls: an exceptional and fitting denouement to the E.PA rum offering, maybe not for the casual Melvins fan,but a valuable addition to your collection if you like things a little more leftfield.

I should have expected it, after all, Joe Preston is famous for slowed down, detuned sludge music with Earth and Thrones, but nothing prepared me for his solo epic with the Melvins. 'The Eagle Has Landed' disorientates the listener by presenting a distressed child crying over some remarkably '50s lift music. Sound strange? It is but then what would you expect from Joe? It's a great track of a juxtaposition of listenable lift music and thoroughly irritating child noise. 'Bricklebrit' is the most straight ahead track on here. It's a swirling lump of grunge instrumentation with a medical report sample thrown in at times. Sounds like Nirvana on really bad acid but is actually really listenable. The real masterpiuece of this EP is 'Hands First Flower'. The only way to describe it is "almost unbearable". Put it this way, if the idea of two chords played with much distortion over 22 minutes doesn't sound like your idea of fun, you won't like this track. If you've heard the Melvins 'Lysol' album this sounds like the opener 'Hung Bunnies' only more drawn out and sluggish. It's a fantastic listen and really challenges the listener's view of music as it traverses the fine line between genius and insanity!All in all, Joe Preston is a fine EP and well worth the money as you're guarenteed to come away from the whole experience your views of rock at least challenged. If you're a Melvins fan or into avant-garde you'll love it, but if you're a curious 'Nevermind' listener try the Melvins 'Houdini' album. This is 'the deep end'. Capiche?