Published on Oct 15, 2000
Big Lizard In My Backyard, the debut release from punk-rock
quartet The Dead Milkmen, helped win them a fan base thanks to the
novelty and alternative-rock hit “Bitchin’ Camaro”.
Eat Your Paisley, the group’s second album, almost washed
out that first wave of fame.
It’s not that it’s a bad album – indeed, it has some very good
moments on it. But overall, Rodney Anonymous Melloncamp (as he
called himself this album) and crew aren’t able to live up to the
firecracker that was their first effort. What should have been a
defining statement from the band, instead, becomes a “don’t forget
we’re still here” whisper. Too bad.
Naturally, it would be foolish to expect the band to write
another “Bitchin’ Camaro” – even though their musical style of
giving the finger to popular culture almost guaranteed they
pigeonholed themselves. But a good portion of the music on this
album is pleasant, but uninspired. Tracks like “Beach Party
Vietnam,” “Take Me Apart,” “Earwig” and “Swampland Of Desire” don’t
have the kind of bite that their fans might have come to expect.
And songs like “Two Feet Off The Ground” drag on far too long for
their own good – how long can anyone continuously scream the word
“ground”?
When they do hit the target, as they do on “Air Crash Museum”
and “Moron,” there still is a bit of promise left unfulfilled by
the band. Again, these are not bad tracks, but they don’t show a
lot of progress in the songwriting department.
Where one does see improvement is in the musicianship
demonstrated by guitarist Joe Jack Talcum, bassist Dave Blood and
drummer Dean Clean. Musically, The Dead Milkmen are a much tighter
unit than they were on Big Lizard In My Backyard, especially
evident on the instrumental “KKSuck2”. (The singing, however, is
joyously hopeless.)
The only track which does show the kind of brilliance fans had
come to expect is on “The Fez,” a song which tackles popular songs
(with tongue firmly planted in cheek) and science at the same time.
It’s a bit of a bizarre trip, but is one worth taking.
The Dead Milkmen would strike gold again on a few occasions, but
Eat Your Paisley isn’t one of them. It’s worth checking out
if you’re a diehard fan of the band, but if you’ve lived this long
without hearing it, you’re not missing much.