The grunge legends known as The Melvins have added another strange one to their wacked out discography, this time with the record ‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’. Like all Melvins before it, this record is jam-packed with absurd pieces of music which takes mainstream grunge to the absolute edge of madness without dropping off the cliff. That’s always been the specialty of the Melvins, pushing their music past the limits of kind, decent music into an attractively off-putting world of dissonance and personal insanity.
‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’ is no different, though you might trick yourself into thinking otherwise once you kick off the opening track ‘Stop Moving to Florida’. It’s the kind of track that lets you know you’re going to jump into something quite different, especially with it being a brainchild of the Melvins. The beginning of the track opens into fairly standard pop-grunge riffage that offers a sing-songy impression. Then the two-minute mark hits and the song breaks down in an almost literal sense which leads into the music stripping away the face value rock-n-roll impression and revealing its true Melvins face. I won’t spoil the direction the music goes into, the initial surprise of the band’s musical eccentric natures is a big part of the fun.
The fun has already started and we haven’t even left the first track yet. What follows is an eclectic mix of grunge/punk tracks that follow a “poppy” nature in the sense that they run with a very upbeat, catchy energy that sets itself into a repetitive nature. Like many Melvins records before, ‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’ takes on multiple energies within its musical packaging; the upbeat pop-grunge contrasted with softer-toned rock tracks like ‘Flamboyant Duck’ and ‘Don’t Forget to Breathe’.
‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’ is a record that takes on a poppy nature in the structure of its music. The Melvins take on multiple faces as a band; sometimes being stoner metal, sometimes pop-punk, sometimes abstract rock, sometimes heavy grunge. The new record goes into a pop direction many fans of the Melvins are already familiar with, demonstrated in particular with the Melvins’ take on the Beatles’ ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, which the band has been performing live quite regularly in recent times and fans would certainly appreciate a studio recording surfacing as part of this new record. Such is the manner in which the Melvins have stamped their signature on this version, if you didn’t know it was a cover you wouldn’t have guessed it.
Needless to say, all Melvins fans need to report to their local record store/online music shop/streaming service pronto and gorge yourself on this fantastic piece of work. ‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’ is a much needed new album that delivers on the unspoken promises that come with expectations of a Melvins record. This album is great for longtime fans and even a good shortcut for new fans looking for an easily digestible entry point into the band’s discography.
– by Ryan Falla
Rating: 8/10
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Record Label: Ipecac
Release Date: April 20 2018
Track Listing:
1. Stop Moving to Florida (5:21)
2. Embrace the Rub (1:41)
3. Don’t Forget to Breathe (7:53)
4. Flamboyant Duck (5:47)
5. Break Bread (2:34)
6. I Want To Hold Your Hand (4:06)
7. Prenup Butter (4:38)
8. Graveyard (5:07)
Total Duration: 37:07
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