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05 August 2005 |
Eyes Adrift
Eyes Adrift - (spinART)
Before you roll your eyes and say, "Oh great...another "supergroup"" just wait a second. It's not quite that simple with Eyes Adrift. Sure, people will think they have it all figured out when they hear that ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh make up the rhythm section here, backing up The Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood. The point to take here, though, is that Eyes Adrift is more akin to The Meat Puppets (the best of the three outfits) and actually makes for the finest work Kirkwood's done since perhaps Mirage .
Gone is the over-the-top heavy guitar sound that Kirkwood has favoured over the last decade. Don't get me wrong - there's plenty of amplifier damage going on here, but just not as overpowering as on, for example, No Joke . The opening Sleight Of Hand finds the familiar Kirkwood vocal over a jazzy rhythm that works like something Up On The Sun could have evolved into. Untried benefits from its breezy electric folk arrangement, while Alaska displays the best of the band's more rocking side.
Why the return to a more varied approach? Perhaps that's where the input of Gaugh and Novoselic comes in (aside from their musicianship). Perhaps Kirkwood just decided that it was time to challenge himself a little more. Whatever the case, it works. The only notable downside here is, aside from Inquiring Minds, Novoselic's two remaining vocal contributions which are ultimately forgettable (the closing fifteen-minute Pasted isn't much more than a throwaway jam).
This still leaves plenty to enjoy here. A nice surprise, to say the least.
7.0 |
