Melvins release frantic new song ‘Allergic to Food’
Sludge masters Melvins have always crafted heavy grooves that feel like they’re close to taking a hard left, diving nose-first off a cliff, and crashing into the jagged rocks below. Despite this off-kilter core, the band’s music is mightily energising and fit for any high-octane situation, from the gym to bank robberies. They distil this notion with their new song ‘Allergic to Food’, undoubtedly one of the more unhinged things they’ve released recently.
The latest offering opens with an almost dance-like beat before the wild guitars and bass cut through the mix like a freshly sharpened Bowie knife to the abdomen. Akin to being at one of the most sinister funfairs imaginable, it’s coloured by the unsettling fuzzy effect frontman Buzz Osborne utilises and his unrelenting guitar work, producing the dynamic riff and the searing solos that continue rampant in both ears as they animatedly twist and turn into each other.
Yet, despite being wildly ominous and made for the soundtrack of Killer Klowns from Outer Space or any other cult B-movie, it’s really entertaining and makes you want to jump back on the waltzers for another spin, with the frizzy-haired band leader, bassist Steven Shane McDonald and drummer Dale Crover the attendants, screaming in our faces while spinning us around.
It also shows that despite such a long road already charted, Melvins’ imagination will continue to carry them into the distance when so many of their peers’ music gets watered down by the passage of time, leaving them scratching their heads at why no one’s really into their latest beige offering. Melvins understand that we’re heading into the belly of oblivion, and from the title of the new track to the music, it captures the utterly absurd nature of the present.
‘Allergic to Food’ is the second single from the sludge pioneers’ new album Tarantula Heart, which arrives on April 19th via Ipecac Recordings. It follows from the equally brilliant but more traditionally Melvins-sounding effort, ‘Working the Ditch’. Featuring forthright and expressive drums, as well as Osborne’s doom-laden guitar, together with its successor, it suggests that the trio’s forthcoming release might be one of the most compelling of the year.
“The way we approached Tarantula Heart was different than any other Melvins’ album,” Osborne said when announcing the new album. “I had Dale and Roy come in and play along with [bassist] Steven [McDonald] and I to some riffs, then I took those sessions and figured out what parts would work and wrote new music to fit. This isn’t a studio approach we’ve ever taken. Usually, we have the songs written before we start recording!”
Alongside releasing the latest Melvins record – the band’s 27th from a long line of widely influential LPs – Osborne is teaming up with Fantômas bandmate Trevor Dunn, better known as the bassist of Mr. Bungle for a US summer tour. The pair will perform music from their 2020 album, Gift of Sacrifice.
Listen to ‘Allergic to Food’ below.
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