On the ninth day of Xmas my AP gave to me ... nine impressed steampunk girls. No? How bout nine things made in China? Or how about nine guys who used to be a pimp but are now hoinfodaman? Have you guessed it yet? We have quite the unexpected surprise today.
Green Naugahyde - Primus
Oh man, Primus released a new album this year. Can you fucking believe that? I couldn't when I signed onto spotify one morning and saw Green Naugahyde featured on their "What's New" page. If you don't know who Primus is then I don't even know how to even begin explaining them to you. The big thing most people will say is that it's basically Les Claypool, considered one of the best bass players of all time, delving into the experimental and the weird. The whole "best bass player" argument is so very subjective and pointless that I don't really want to get into that part of the discussion. What I will say though, is that Les Claypool is by far the most interesting bass player I've ever heard, I feel I can safely say that with some objectivity.
Just the release of Green Naugahyde was enough of a surprise honesty, but what's more is just how different Primus sounds these days. It's still Claypool doing what he does best, and don't forget LaLonde's brilliantly humble complimentary guitar playing, but they have a different sound, less hard rock leaning (if that's even the correct term), again I don't know if I can even explain it (par for Primus honestly). All I know is that I like it, I really really like it, and you know what? It should be different, their last studio album was released in 1999. They better sound different after twelve fucking years. Some say that Green Naugahyde sounds more like Claypool's solo efforts, but I don't know anything about that honestly, but hey, when are the some people ever wrong?
What I truly love about Green Naugahyde is the bold, fresh, and irreverent blasting of modern American. This album, along with the typical weirdness about squirrels and how awesome Lee Van Cleef is (Which duh), we have a group of songs that are blazingly anti-materialistic, anti-commercialist, and comment on the emptiness of our American lifestyle. These are all ideas I've been drawn to myself, I do fly my own flag of anti-materialism (Or try to anyway), so it's nice to find such an entertaining take on the philosophy. See for yourself with "Eternal Consumption Engine," and "HOINFODAMAN." Then of course there's the pure fun Primus found in "Hennepin Crawler," and "Eyes of the Squirrel," the latter of which has one of the most impressive bass parts I've ever heard. And I guess that's Primus in a nutshell, they aren't just some one-trick gimmick, this is a collection of very talented musicians who have some interesting things to say, but they also proudly embrace their weirdness, flying their freak flag with hopeless abandon. Hey, so I was able to explain them after all, how bout that?
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