Meat Puppets: Golden Lies : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The first Meat Puppets studio album in five years isn't a proper Puppets record at all -- at least not for those who think that the band revolves around founders Curt Kirkwood and his drug-addled brother Cris. The good news: The new Cris-less lineup -- guitarist Kyle Ellison, drummer Shandon Sahm and ex-Bob Mould bassist Andrew Duplantis -- doesn't stink, by any means. It does, however, lack the original band's inspired derangement. On Golden Lies, weighty midtempo rock hobbles the Pups' trademark blend of cow-punk, blues and hallucinatory instrumental rants. "Hercules" is a standard mix of old-school heavy metal and new-school whitey funk, even when enlivened with sweet lyrical absurdities such as "I see a spiderman vigorously jumping/Up and down on a little pink dumpling." The pop plaint "You Love Me" is fine, dreamy stuff, but disappointingly conventional coming from a band renowned for idiosyncrasy. Curt seems to acknowledge his own heavy legacy on "Pieces of Me," moaning, "Once I was something/But I can't remember/Whatever that something should be." (RS 851)

NEVA CHONIN