Melvins
Tres Cabrones
Ipecac Recordings
On Tres Cabrones—the 19th studio album from Melvins—the band returns to their old-school punk roots. They also essentially revisit their 1983 configuration: Buzz Osborne on guitar, Dale Crover on bass, and Matt Dillard on drums. Though not the original lineup, it’s “as close as we’re willing to get,” says Osborne. The three raw opening tracks hark back to the band’s Gluey Porch Treatments, with a bit of quirky pop added to the mix. Osborne’s gritted-teeth riffs lurch over Crover’s excellent bass work, and the guitarist’s penchant for sinewy, lo-fi leads works especially well on the album’s slower numbers. The hilarious covers of “Tie My Pecker to a Tree” and “99 Bottles of Beer” offer a brief reprieve from the album’s dirge-like sound. At times, Cabrones feels more rigid than the band’s previous work, but it still has plenty of the headbanging riffs and trademark tongue-in-cheek humor that make Melvins unique. Another strong album from a band that’s still kicking hard after 30 years.
Must-hear track: “Stick ’Em up Bitch” and "American Cow"
