Review: The Melvins - Hold It In
By Sam Carroll, Contributor
[Ipecac; 2014]
Rating: 7/10
Key Tracks: “Piss Pisstopherson,” “You Can Make Me Wait,” “Sesame Street Meat”
The Melvins are often considered the innovators of grunge and sludge acts such as Boris, Mastodon, Soundgarden and Sunn O. Their slow, heavy sound and dark humored, eccentric lyrical themes make them an oddity compared to more traditional doom and sludge acts. Their sixteenth studio release, Hold It In, branches out from their signature sound and dives into lighter territory than typically trudged through.
“You Can Make Me Wait” sucker-punches the listener with its jangling chords and poppy, upbeat atmosphere. To a hardcore Melvins fan this track doesn’t belong on this album, or any of their other works. It doesn’t feel like a 5,000-pound weight slowly being pressed into someone’s skull. “I Get Along” and “Eyes on You” follow the same trend with the poppy, radio-worthy sound.
For how foreign it is to The Melvins’ sound, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the tracks weren’t written by front man Buzz Osborne or drummer Dale Crover. Paul Leary of Butthole Surfers appears on this album and is credited for writing those three songs. Nonetheless, they did not entirely drop their signature sound from making its way onto the album.
Despite being just under three and a half minutes, “Sesame Street Meat” is the best example of slow and heavy on this album. The track keeps with their quirky sound, adding in phantom-like vocals lulling in the background during the chorus and note bends that mimic screams.
Lyrically, Hold It In follows suit with previous albums. They’re odd and witty at times but strange overall. “Piss Pisstopherson’s” lyrics seem to focus on thoughts that run through bassist JD Pearson’s head before lashing out at someone. The track opens with, “Say, why are you looking at me / I think it’s time you moved on / No, don’t think I like what you see.” The overall tone has an element of dark humor, making them seem intentionally downplayed for comedic value.
The album does have The Melvins method of execution, but there are two things about the album that stick out as problems. The first noticeable flaw when listening to this album was is how some several tracks sounding like they could be from Corrosion of Conformity’s 2012 album, primarily in terms of overall structure and sound production.
The opening track “Bride of Crankenstein” follows a similar arrangement and rhythm as COC’s “Psychic Vampire,” but both songs differ with drumming style and bass rhythm. The drum work on “Crankenstein” is cymbals heavy and less elaborate than that of “Vampire.”
Audio production on the tracks “Onions Make the Milk Taste Bad” and “Piss Pisstopherson” also sounds similar to those found on COC’s album. Compared to the other tracks on Hold It In, these two tracks have a mushy, bottom-heavy sound that make them feel out of place with the album’s clean production. In terms of style, “Piss Pisstopherson” sounds the most like something The Melvins would create.
Compared to previous releases, Hold It In is the oddball in The Melvins discography. The slow and heavy environment present on Bullhead, Stoner Witch or even Tres Cabrones isn’t as blatant on this release. Granted, they didn’t ditch their sound for something new, but it feels like the album is more geared toward reaching a larger audience than previous efforts. Despite the more commercial sound, they do offer long-term fans some heavier tracks, but don’t capture the heart-stopping heaviness one would expect to hear from them.
