After reading the title (Dry Humping the American Dream) and glancing at the cover (four grown men making wacky faces), my expectations plummeted for Gutbucket’s new album. Frank Zappa has much to answer for. Thankfully, though, the music on Dry Humping (Cantaloupe) doesn’t succumb to the pitfalls of grotesque clownishness at which these superficial indicators hint. Gutbucket, as its name suggests, makes visceral music that fuses downtown NYC’s brainy eclecticism and Ornette Coleman’s harmolodics with Primus’ spazzy brawn. These New Yorkers-Ty Citerman (guitar), Eric Rockwin (bass), Ken Thomson (sax) and Paul Chuffo (drums)-are maximalist dynamos equally adept at raging, snarling rock raveups and delicately eerie modal ruminations (“Another World Is Possible” is a beautiful standout in this style)-and even polkas, for crying out loud. If you can overlook titles like “O.J. Bin Laden” and “Dance of the Demented Pigeon,” you’ll experience scorching, multi-hyphenated rock that changes directions with acute agility and electrifying bombast.
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