Peculiar Pretzelmen - Transmissions from the Electromagnetic Understream

Naturally, when I saw the Peculiar Pretzelmen the other night, I had to pick up their new CD (along with a new t-shirt). Their recordings are, if anything, even more varied than their live sets as they layer further sonic psychosis than is possible in a show setting.

On this latest release (I have lost track of how many CDs they have out, but they are quite prolific, which is nice for us fans), they start out with an ambient noise track, "And the Birds Will Mark His Passing" which flows into "Death Rattle", with its slow groove provided by Deacon's drum'n'car parts percussion and highlighted by squacks'n'squeals from Kevin's various electronics. Sonic waves mix with echo'd vocals and a simple beat for the short'n'to-the-point "Make Blues Not Bombs" that foreshadows the ominous "Deep Dark Hole", making good use of the various metallic percussion on Deacon's kit and Kevin's swells of almost orchestral sounds. "The River" is a terrific mixed bag of punk, stompin' blues, dynamics and superior lyrics and Kevin's words are highlighted again in the twisted, industrial, horror movie-esque,  near-hip-hop of "Must Resist Sleep" and the Tom Waits-ian, swaying ballad, "Down to the Water".

More ambience for "Nightmare of Opposites" and then "Dream of Sleep", a menacingly bouncy number, before a short reprise of "And the Birds Will Mark His Passing (Reprise)" and then "Cut Out to be Clyde", a tale of failed villainy with a backdrop of a Western tango, of all things. "One Man Hang" is an animated, riffin' piece of Americana/blues (with a Pretzelmen twist, of course), "Bang the Drum" has a droning, creaking soundtrack not unlike a noisy swingset in a deserted playground with Kevin shouting over the bedlam, "Traveler" then changes stream for a nice bit of acoustic picking folk music before the final finale of one last reprise of "And the Birds Will Mark His Passing (Return)".

As always, my descriptions fail to tell the whole story, as words tend to do, and the Pretzelemen need to be experienced individually in order to realize your own interpretations. But, gawddamit if I don't freakin' love damn near everything that this duo does. They are fantastic live and the recordings just add another dimension. More than highly recommended.