Altamont - Our Darling

(Man's Ruin)

Every once in awhile, Dale Crover takes a break from riding shotgun in King Buzzo's tragic bus, slaps on a more manly guitar, and flies right off the handle bars with the uniquely savage Altamont. As far as I'm concerned, you could stuff the Melvins into a cannon and shoot them into outer space, as their sticky indie-sludge has always struck me as the worst kind of back packer hype, but you won't find a seconds worth of their droning, killing floor noise-scapes within Our Darling's grooves. Naw, this is a whole different animal, a furry, mangy bastard with yellowed eyes and a mouthful of broken teeth. Fitting that a band that names itself after one of rock n' roll's darkest moments would scream "Biker Rock' as loud as an Iron Cross and a can of Harley Davidson Heavy Beer. Gutter level blues riffs are stomped to death under a pounding rhythm section while Dale's black cat moan speaks of dark and terrible things. What those things are is anybody's guess, as Man's Ruin continue their campaign against sensible rock packaging and didn't bother laying any song titles on the people, but I can say for sure that the beleaguered ghost of Johnny Thunders is desecrated but good with a fuzzed out, Blue Cheer-escape-from New York take on 'Pirate Love' that easily out rocks the army of skinny, greasy haired junk whores that resurrect that cat's half baked Chuck Berry riffs for an easy living. Otherwise, all the songs sound the same, but it hardly matters, because 'Our Darling" is a mood piece, anyway. A bad mood that ends in an ambulance ride.