Time of Orchids "Much Too Much Fun" CD
[self-released]
Here's the second full-length from these mentally unstable cats, and while not nearly as completely over the top and nutty as their last record, this one is fucked up on many more subtle levels. I mean, for one thing, they have Kate Pierson from the B-52's singing on a handful of these tracks. How the hell does a band like this hook that up!? As for the music, they're still pretty eclectic and off the wall, fiddling with discordant progressive rock, improv, and jazz influences. And yeah, I know they probably hate hearing it, but I can still sense a Mr. Bungle vibe to some degree (granted it sounds more like Mr. Bungle covering the Dead Kennedys via Primus without any distortion a lot of times, so they are moving away from that whole Mike Patton thing)... but for the most part the writing is somewhat more cohesive and listenable here. "Plenty of Room" is the chief exception, running more than seven minutes of nice (though quiet) singing behind a bunch of unnecessarily bland guitar and bass noodling that sounds sort of like they're tuning up, sort of like they're testing how much sustain they can get out of dead/dying strings, and sort of like they're actually improvising some kind of randomly spaced out note patterns. A few of these more obnoxious traits pop up again from time to time, but within the context of songs that are curiously melodic and emotional on some twisted level. I'll say this: The singing on this record is fucking great. The male vocals, the female vocals, all of it sounds fucking excellent. The drumming is rock fucking solid as well. The drums and vocals make this record in my opinion. The bass playing isn't too shabby at all (there's a killer bass solo in "Gone Fishin'"), and the guitars are alright, but for me it's all about the drums and the vocals. Synths are also present at times, but they don't play that large of a role. The recording's not bad, except that it does add to the less than effective guitar performance in some ways. The drums sound perfect, the bass tone is great, and the vocals are slick. But the guitars often sound a bit flat and plain. I don't know... they rarely use distortion, which is fine, and there is a certain brightness to some of the guitar textures, but it clashes with the fluidity of everything else. Intentional? Very possible, I don't know. But it does distract me. It could be the mix, as the guitars feel separated from everything else... but whatever the cause, the guitars need to fall in line with everything else tonally to work with the big picture. The layout's pretty nice. All of the imagery consists of bright splashes of warm colors that look like they might be blurry close-up shots of paintings or something. Then there's just a little bit of text as far as the lyrics and liner notes. The lyrics are pretty strange as a whole, I don't know what to wager there: "And all this goes in a different box, One size fits all of these, My size matters, I can clothe everyone around me, Like a baby and a mother, I'll keep in touch, You move, This is your baby now, I feel some kicking, Can I hide here?" To close, I'll just say this: If you're hoping for more of the same crazy and abrasive madness of their last record, be advised that what's in store for you here is not in any way, shape, or form a repeat of their past efforts. It's still obscure and uncommon, and I'd wager experimental, but in a much more linear and laidback fashion (if that makes sense). In my opinion it's equally as curious, but for vastly different reasons. (7/10)
Running time - 44:35, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Same Exact, What You Hold, Phantom Pregnancies]
Time of Orchids - http://www.timeoforchids.com

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