Tomahawk, the rock super-group composed of Mike Patton (Faith No More), Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard), John Stanier (Battles, Helmet) and Trevor Dunn (Melvins Lite, Mr. Bungle), occupy a strange piece of the genre Venn diagram, somewhere between alternative metal, alt-rock and experimental noise. Oddfellows is their first rock-like album in over a decade (their most recent release, Anonymous, was an experiment in adapting Native American melodies and song structures). Stripped down and restrained, Oddfellows features bursts of energy and ferocity, but is always carefully measured and weighted. "Choke Neck" bubbles and bursts, defined by a percolating, nervous energy and "A Thousand Eyes" creeps and seethes, circling the listener as though looking for a weak spot. Patton's vocals vary from hushed crooning to otherworldly shrieks, a counterpoint to Denison's precise, almost scientific guitars. The atmosphere Oddfellows creates is all fever dream and heat haze, spit and sweat the only moisture, cracking skin and sunburns, as though the listener is wandering the desert looking for their spirit guide. Only the figure they finally encounter is far stranger than they could have possibly imagined.
Read our exclusive Tomahawk interview here.
(Ipecac)Read our exclusive Tomahawk interview here.
