Crazy Clown Time

David Lynch sings, again! In a follow-up to the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse/Lynch collaboration released last year, everybody's favorite populist-surrealist filmmaker has a new record all to himself-- he wrote and produced every track, and sings on all but Track 1 (Karen O. guests), and Track 8 (inst.).

He calls it "modern blues," which I find amusing. More descriptively, it's the fusion of creepy ambient noises with creepy freak-out vocals. (Lynch really does have great control of his own voice.)

This should please everybody from the Bladerunnercore set (for the creepy and beautiful production, though the songs are often of a conventional blues-type structure) to the indie fans (it's ultimately very accessible), and everybody inbetween.

FCC on 12; some questionable moans on 10... however, 10 is the stand-out track. Use your judgment.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
#10 (the titular "Crazy Clown Time") is the most incredible thing to happen to music all year. #1 (with Karen O.) and #5, a burbling "fwootbwall" story, are also winners. But there's a lot worth playing.

1. (4:03) ***** Karen O. on vocals-- a spare and driving song, with chugging drums and Link Wray reverb-- the sound of a dark highway in the dead of night. "Watch the road..." Sudden, ripping close.
2. (4:41) Bubblegummy synth-pop, with David Lynch auto-tuned to hell. Briefly, sound f/x of machine gun fire. I personally think this track is terrible, but I've heard others call it the stand-out track. Your miles may vary.
3. (3:38) ** "I'm so glad you're gone." Tech-blues, with weird sounds of gathering storm in the background...
4. (4:57) *** Creepy whisper, with record skips. "I know a song..." Oppressive ambient whirr in background. Minimalist quick-metronome percussion.
5. (4:22) **** Thunderous guitar, then Lynch sings like he has a mouth full of Novocaine. "I wentb downb to the fwoobtbwall gwame..." The ramblings of a cuckold.
6. (4:06) ** Reverby, processed vocals. He sounds like a howling cat, mostly talk-singing. Organ-soaked atmosphere, with tape whirr and sudden "Twin Peaks" guitar riffs.
7. (7:32) * Bowie circa "Station to Station"-type production, but with Lynch-as-Robby-the-robot vocals (HEAVY vocoder), spouting verbose new-agey claptrap. I can't tell if it's earnest or a parody. He has tips for dental care, and much more.
8. (5:02) * Leisurely "Twin Peaks" type instrumental.
9. (5:24) Sounds like the Police, and then Lynch comes in, a raspy voice trapped in a broomcloset. Then a clear, strident voice during the inscrutable chorus- "Stone's gone up; white light".
10. (7:02) ************** YES! David Lynch does a moronic falsetto, and narrates a looping, nonsensical, perverse story. "Suzy, she ripped her shirt off completely..." "Danny poured beer all over Sally..." "Buddy screamed so loud... and spit!" "We all round around the backyard!" "Dee Dee lit his hair... on fire." "Sally chugged a few beers..." "Danny spit on Suzy..." [Near FCC-- some background sounds of erotic moaning. Use your judgment.] IT WAS CRAZY CLOWN TIME!
11. (5:00) * Slow, happy, echoey country strumming, with Lynch in a processed, insipid hillbilly twang. "I got a truck... and a barbecue." He sings about the value of friends; I think it's mostly in earnest. Kind of the "The Straight Story" of the album. (Strangely, the characters have the same name as the tableau of "Crazy Clown Time," Dee Dee and Sally, etc.)
12. (3:57) (FCC: many "fuck", "shit".) Not much of a loss-- slow '80s casio blues. Slow, tortured storytelling.
13. (4:17) More murky, slow. A little more willowy this time around.
14. (5:16) Steam from manhole covers... an autotuned wraith. Minimalist. Then it gets REALLY auto-tuned. Eh.

-Hervey Okkles
11/30/2011