DON'T STOP BELIEVING
James McMahon
Playful rockers' stunning return after almost two decades.
The practice of alt rock legends recording new music after lengthy absences doesn't often end well. After a 23-year wait, last year the Pixies finally got round to releasing
their fifth album. Indie Cindy - the result was the currently Kim Deal-less Bostonians' first not-impeccable record ever. Elsewhere, it's likely that if you can name the title of any
Dinosaur Jr release post 2007, you're either a liar, or J Mascis himself. Thankfully Faith No More's first new music in 18 years is an exception to form. Perhaps the secret is unique
to the San Francisco band: here they sound as deliciously out-of-step with the times as they have during any of the four decades in which they've existed. This isn't just a new Faith No
More record. It's one of their very best.
Three songs in and atop clanging disco guitar, singer Mike Patton manages to make Sunny Side Up's guttural opening utterance of, "I'll be your leprechaun..." sound like the
greatest chat-up line ever conceived. Its neighbouring song, the hypnotic heavy metal chug of Separation Anxiety, sounds much like Black Sabbath if Ozzy Osbourne's Aston contingent had attended art school instead of coming from a manual labour background.
Elsewhere there is skeletal country rock (Black Friday), anthemic stadium goth metal (Matador), throaty lounge-pop (From The Dead) and the throbbing avant-garde (lead-off single Motherfucker). All this leaves the listener in no doubt that there is still boundless innovation in the Faith No More camp; still a firm commitment to doing whatever the hell they want. And, as such, a reason to still exist even after all these years - that's just as musical as a cynic might suggest there is one that's monetary.
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