RIYL: the Melvins, Ty Segall, Pile, Tom Waits, Pinback, Redd Kross, Soundgarden, Trevor Dunn, Butthole Surfers, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Minutemen, The Jesus Lizard, Wipers, Hüsker Dü, Flipper, Meat Puppets.

As he began plotting his new solo album, Dale Crover world-renowned drummer for the Melvins, Nirvana and Redd Kross, and singer-guitarist for Altamont realized that, unlike with his prior two full-lengths, he was starting from scratch. “I didn’t have any songs,” he says, “so I just went on this writing spree.”

The result is Glossolalia, Crover’s third LP under his own name and arguably his most focused statement yet as a solo artist: 11 catchy yet eccentric tracks that move from Nuggets-y garage rock to crafty proto-metal riffage and gorgeously hazy psych-pop, touching on everything from a bad teenage trip to the charms of the late, great Jane Birkin, and featuring input by illustrious guests including Ty Segall, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil and none other than Tom Waits. What stands out across the record is the sturdiness of Crover’s vision. He’s modest about his ambitions “It’s just kind of like extra credit,” he says, about having a solo outlet apart from his main band but as this record shows, his overall aesthetic hits just as hard as his legendary drum thunder.

TRACK LISTING

1. Glossolalia
2. Doug Yuletide
3. I Quit
4. Blow'd Up
5. Rings
6. Jane
7. I Waited Forever
8. Don't Worry About It
9. Spoiled Daisies
10. Kitten Knife
11. Punchy

Rat-a-Tat-Tat! Is that the sound of the reaper knocking on your door to collect your soul or Dale Crover hammering out another distinctive drum fill? There are pretty good odds it's the latter; between 36 years (and about as many full-lengths and EPs) as drummer/bassist for the Melvins and his contributions to acts as varied as Altamont, Peeping Tom, Redd Kross, Shrinebuilder, and a little band called Nirvana, he's built quite the body of work. In 2017, he added a proper solo album to his extensive catalog, Fickle Finger of Fate. Now he's followed that with Rat-a-Tat-Tat! Crover takes the solo thing seriously: he wrote the album while on the road and provided vocals, drums, guitars, vibraphone, and miscellaneous percussion. Just like the last album, recording took place over at Toshi Kasai's Sound of Sirens Studio in beautiful Sun Valley, CA. Kasai recorded and mixed it again, as well as co-producing it with Crover under the sobriquet Deaf Nephews. Celebrated graphic designer (and regular Melvins cover artist) Mackie Osborne created the striking album art, just as she did for Fickle Finger. So what's different this time around? Crover assembled an actual band to help him out. Redd Kross bassist Steve McDonald asked Crover to open for Redd Kross, Crover asked McDonald to play bass for him, and the rest is history. It'd be difficult for even the multi-talented Crover to put on a live show by himself without one of those one-man-band contraptions. In addition to McDonald, Kasai (ex-Big Business, Plan D) helps with keyboards, synths, jawharp, and backing vocals. Mindee Jorgensen (Dangerously Sleazy) sits behind the kit live and contributes additional drumming and some sweet saxophone skills here.

His former Altamont bandmate Dan Southwick plays bass on 'Tougher,' a track Crover cowrote with Kasai. Some pieces of the songs may sound familiar to the 127 completists who grabbed the limited-run lathe cut record Piso Mojado, a collection of experimental drum weirdness. Although insanity certainly abounds on Rat-a-Tat-Tat!, there are also some surprisingly poppy moments. Crover claims 'Shark Like Overbite' may be the poppiest song he's ever written. It's also the puppiest: it was inspired by the three dogs he's had over the years. A few tunes ('I Can't Help You There,' 'Kiss Proof World') harken back to his Pacific Northwest lineage. That said, 'Tougher,' 'Supine is How I Found Him,' and 'New Pharaoh' careen right off the dial. It's an eclectic mix, one that draws on song fragments he's had for years. It still feels cohesive and uniquely Dale Crover. But then, who would expect anything other than the unexpected? The opportunity knocks to hear more Dale Crover jams; be sure to answer

TRACK LISTING

1. Moclips
2 I Can’t Help You There
3 Tougher
4 Stumbler
5 Shark Like Overbite
6 Supine Is How I Found Him
7 I’ll Never Say
8 New Pharaoh
9 Untrue Crime
10 The Bowie Mix
11 Piso Mojado
12 Kiss Proof World