Robert Pollard's Circus Devils are back with their fifth album and I cannot say it does much for me. There is some solid rock on this disc but ham-fisted lyrics and a few too many guitar clichés make the album tough to listen to more than a couple of times. For every good piece of music there is a set of accompanying lyrics that completely alienate the listener. I have a strong sense that more thought was put into making incomprehensible lyrics than making fully-formed songs in any shape or form.
On "Summer is Set" Pollard sings of an "avalanche of mumbo-jumbo" and this just about sums up the album. The lyrics remind me a lot of Buzz Osbourne's of the Melvins and Les Claypool's of Primus: weird in a very American way; an unhealthy obsession with B-Movie sci fi and odd phrases seemingly included in order to rhyme with other odd phrases. Unlike the Melvins (or to a lesser extent Primus), Circus Devils never manage to blend the surreal with the tangible. The music is too easy going; there is no bridge between the oddities of Pollard's vocals and the mundane garage band rock. There is no indication whether Pollard intends his lyrics to be humorous or serious. Even if they are meant to be funny, the joke is lost on me. As a result, the vocals sound silly and detract from the listening experience.
Credit where it is due, Sgt. Disco is not always a chore to listen to. Some of the music does break out from its generic guitar band aesthetic and develops a little bit of edge. Even the lyrics of "In Madonna's Gazebo" cannot take away from the savage guitar playing that cuts all the way through the song. One of the few songs that manages to be good both musically and lyrically is "The Constable's Headscape," which comes closest to sounding like the militaristic disco of the album's title. Aside from this and a handful of other good songs, Sgt. Disco is unfortunately bereft of much excitement.
I found it very hard to listen to this album more than a few times to review. There are so many songs (32!) on this album that I feel like it should be winding down when it is only a third of the way through. I have a feeling that this fatigue is another factor in Sgt. Disco's complete failure to engage me. If the album was chopped down to a more sensible number of tracks then I feel it might work better but as it is, it is much too long to waste time trying to appreciate.
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