Puscifer - Conditions of my Parole
Rating
RIYL
A Perfect CirclePJ Harvey
Nine Inch Nails
Release Date
10/18/2011
Label
Puscifer EntertainmentTracklist
01. Tiny Monsters02. Green Valley
03. Monsoons
04. Telling Ghosts
05. Horizons
06. Man Overboard
07. Toma
08. The Rapture (Fear Is a Mind Killa Mix)
09. Conditions of My Parole
10. The Weaver
11. Oceans
12. Tumbleweed
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The transformation between Puscifer’s debut album V is for Vagina and their follow up EP “C” is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) was tremendous. While Maynard James Keenan and company were having a good time on their first release, it was apparent they weren’t taking themselves too seriously, a welcome change for Keenan. The band’s next batch of material, however, was stunning and a far more mature vision of what Puscifer could do. The collective of musicians spent time on the road together, honing their craft into a tour-de-force part music, part ingeniously offensive sketch comedy. Witnessing the band live it was clear they weren’t mucking around, as they ignited their tracks from the album renditions into soaring mammoths of what the audience thought they knew. Four years since the debut, Maynard is back with Puscifer’s sophomore full length, the eclectic Conditions of my Parole, an album rooted in the haunting atmosphere of his desert home in Jerome, Arizona. It has been five years since the last Tool album and seven since A Perfect Circle released new music, and with the third batch of Puscifer recordings in that time, it’s beginning to become apparent where his creative process is settling. With hopes of the next Tool album on the horizon for late next year (maybe…), Puscifer is more than a mere stopgap for Maynard fanatics worldwide, it’s the next chapter in a phenomenal portrait of a musician. Consider Conditions of my Parole a further exploration of the legendary singer’s ability, and to be honest… it’s rather spectacular.
Joining Maynard in the rotating Puscifer collective on Conditions of my Parole are members both old and new including: Carina Round, Ashes Divide’s Matt McJunkins and Jeff Friedl, Mat Mitchell, Josh Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv) , Jonny Polonsky, Jon Theodore (One Day as a Lion/ex-Mars Volta) , Gil Sharone (ex-Dillinger Escape Plan) , Rani Sharone, Juliette Commagere, Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) ,Tim Alexander (ex-Primus/ex-Into The Presence) , Sarah Jones (Bat For Lashes) , Tanya O'Callaghan, and of course… Devo Keenan. The band plays heavily into the synth and programmed aspect of their sound, though always mindful of intertwining instrumentation from guitars, bass, and live drums. The swirling futuristic synths provide dazzling dreamscapes for Maynard’s gorgeous and tranquil melodies on tracks like the album’s opener “Tiny Monsters,” the soothing cello assisted “Monsoons,” “Oceans,” and the breezy atmosphere rich electronic drift of “Horizons.” The stark beauty of “Green Valley” encapsulates Maynard’s recent fixation with the vast Arizona landscape, as he harmonizes with Carina Round over gentle acoustic guitars and banjo that lead into distorted electric effect pedal manipulation. Rarely have elements of folk and experimental rock forged into a gnarled sound of this nature, but the collision is simply jaw dropping.
It’s not all meditative and ambient listening however, as things take a heavy turn with “Toma” and “Telling Ghosts,” a song that wouldn’t seem too out of place on an APC record. The hard hitting hook throbs as Maynard’s voice rises momentarily to a shout, a rare occurrence in the world of Puscifer. The range in Maynard’s voice is impeccable as always, highlighted by the shift from aggressive to soulful in the blink of an eye. “Man Overboard,” the album’s first single, is arguably the most reminiscent to the band’s debut, with hard hitting industrial instrumentation, throbbing rhythms, and an entertaining vocal performance that ranges from Maynard’s lowest registers to a triumphant holler as the band warn us to brace ourselves as they, “turn it up to eleven.” The ground shattering heaviness of “The Rapture (Fear is a Mind Killa Mix)” crawls at a slow pace, a welcome tempo change for the album’s decent into brutal psychedelic dirge. Keenan and Round’s shimmering harmonies counteract the gloriously enveloping rhythm section of frequent cohorts Gil and Roni Sharone.
The twang of the album’s title track offers an interesting tale of an outlaw, as only Maynard can imagine… with guns, vampires, public intoxication, and urination. Jon Theodore’s drumming is beyond exceptional as the guitars offer a Wild West feel that lend to the paranoia and urgency of Maynard’s lyrics. “The Weaver” pushes an enormous wall of sound to extreme lengths with a triple guitar attack layered to perfection, haunting backing vocals, and the ever philosophical chorus, “I am, therefore I do”. Oh… and Jon Theodore proves once again to be an insanely great drummer. “Tumbleweed,” the album’s stunning closer, is a sparse tried and true folk song, complete with two stringed fiddle, banjo, and another glimpse of sensational vocal harmonizing from Round and Keenan. Tim Alexander’s massive drums (sadly his lone appearance on the record) create an epic crescendo to the folk ballad before wearily winding down to the record's final moments. Puscifer may just be the subconscious of Maynard, but the group’s creativity and desire to experiment with different sounds is assuredly deliberate.
--Dan Goldin
Comments
Lehigh Valley, PA
I have to be honest, as a huge fan of Maynard and everything he's done, this project has never grabbed my attention. I suppose I should check this out.
Milwaukee, WI
I think this is more or less what I had always hoped for from this project. I actually had some moments I really enjoyed on V (Momma Sed being my favorite Puscifer song) but I couldn't help feel like that was an inside joke I was missing. Then C... really showed potential. Now, everything seems to have come together.
The genres shift from track to track, but all somehow seem to flow together. From mixing borderline folk (Green River, Tumbleweed), glitch (Horizons), industrial (Telling Ghosts, Man Overboard) to a track I swear Bjork would've sang over when she was making Homogenic (Monsoons) this thing jumps all over the place, but it all works really well. The only low-light for me is Toma, which might actually be really good if they got rid of the random, Max Calvera-ish screams of "Toma" during the chorus.
I think fans of MJK will love this. That might not mean fans of Tool or APC, but if you love the vocals from his other two projects, there is a lot to like here.
Reno, NV
Current Listenings:
Psychollywood - Psychollywood
Royal Thunder - Cvi
The Next Hundred Years - Troppo
Kyng - Trampled Sun
Kill Devil Hill - Kill Devil Hill
Minnesota
Since everything Puscifer related I'd listened to in the past I thought was crap, I hadn't really gotten around to this album. Listened to it this morning, though, as I was paying bills and was pleasantly surprised. There are a few seriously awesome songs (like "Telling Ghosts") and not nearly as much pointless crap like previous releases. Consider me impressed.
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Brooklyn, NY
Excellent bill paying music.
www.explodinginsound.com