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Apr 04, 2019 Web Exclusive By Timothy Michalik

What band with a tenure of nearly four decades still releases—if not consistently excellent—consistently good music? Throughout Meat Puppets’ 15-album discography, the Phoenix-based psychedelic cowboys have transmogrified from adolescent hardcore punks to cowpunk extraordinaries to masters of psychedelic country; Meat Puppets have touched and influenced virtually every “notable” rock band of the band past 30 years—Nirvana, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., etc.—and yet remain a somewhat esoteric fan favorite, one that release a considerable amount of music that utilizes the aforementioned sub-genres as a means of exploration. Such is the case for their latest studio album—and first with the original lineup since 1995—for Megaforce, Dusty Notes.

Where their last album, 2013’s Rat Farm, bounced from one style to the next—such is the case for the majority of their albums—Dusty Notes sticks to the initial script of the opening track, “Warranty” for something more relaxed and thoughtfully arranged—Meat Puppets have never sounded as serious, either. Vocalist Curt Kirkwood’s straight-forward and heady delivery sounds the breeziest it has this century—collected and poetic, exploring naturalism (“Outflow”), surrealism (“Vampyr’s Winged Fantasy”), and historical fetishism (“Nightcap”). Buried beneath droning, mid-tempo guitars and spare key arrangements, Dusty Notes finds Meat Puppets more grounded than ever. (www.themeatpuppets.com)

Author rating: 7/10