Published on Mar 10, 2005
Teetering with more of a warped Les Claypool style of
effervescence than previous disc
Guide to Good and Evil delivers, the new album from
Lillehammer, Norway’s Mormones further proves that a seemingly
primitive drum and bass act do not have to be predictable to
inspire. Disagree with that assessment — then you can
Dra Til Hælvette!
Ahh, just take me figuratively for a moment.
Dra Til Hælvette doesn’t so much mean for you to
literally “go to hell” as it means to check your doubts at the door
about what bass and drum can rhythmically do to you. Chapter two of
the Mormones’ catalogue will bump and prod you into trance-dance
moves as unpredictable as an arthritic robot in need of a can of
WD-40.
With lyrics documenting occurrences of giant cows falling from
the open sky and landing on two feet before breaking into the
“Snakeman’s Dance,” and the murder munchies being remedied by
marinating microwave burritos in Louisiana hot sauce as “Spice Jar”
instructs, the Mormones tinker more in the world of the eclectic
elements of the rock n’ roll experience than they did with their
first release. Good thing there is not a lyric sheet in the CD
jacket or I’m sure I’d find myself smirking even more than I am
now.
Separately, “Space Is The Place” is an inaudibly demure example
of an acid trip gone bad for four minutes and change, before
bassist Morten Mormone launches into a brash two-minute bass solo
assault that has me understanding that space is the place — for
hell. For a more traditional rocker like myself, I’m already
programmed to discount the first four minutes of the song just to
get back to hearing the solo with future spins.
On the other hand, the Mormones give a nod to the old school
with their tribute to the Aerosmith classic “Sweet Emotion” as the
backbone of their “A Far Out Trip through a Hard Rock Tunnel,” a
song that hits that same opening peak and valley bass drone found
in the band from Boston’s song. Proving this testimonial to be no
anomaly in linking to the American boogie rock era of the ’70s,
“Pagan Baby” can also be likened to something the Motor City
Madman, Ted Nugent, might have drummed up (another figurative
reference, of course) just prior to his heyday.
So while
Dra Til Hælvette is a more varied and creative album
than its predecessor
Guide to Good and Evil, it is an easier album to not only
admire but to find fault. It is energetic and the song structures
are more varied this time around, which will obviously mean
different things to different people.
One thing is surely undeniable, and that is that acts like the
Mormones are the lifeblood of what the indie rock scene is really
about. There’s a certain defiance to their madness and the duo
don’t seem to care. They tell us to
Dra Til Hælvette! And while we’re at it, to “get up
and dance motherfuckers”!
[Visit the Mormones at
www.mormones.net; order Dra Til Hælvette
at
www.trustmerecords.com/mormones/bio2.htm ]