Mute
Using bugs, frogs and the occasional mammal forinspiration, it's not quite clear if the anonymous Residents are tryingto make a Darwinian statement or if they just decided to (once again)do something no one else had thought of. Just in time for spring—therelease was originally scheduled for February but was pushed backseveral times for unknown reasons—and the lovely mating calls andhordes of insects the season brings, the cacophonous collection callsupon the whole breadth of the Residents' musical abilities in order toreplicate the sounds of nature. Jazz horns recreate the bleat of abullfrog, classical strings and cellos emulate the buzz of cicadas or aswarm of flies, elements of their musical beginnings as and every"human"-made vocal is put through enough synthesizers and effects tomake them sound like a bug or some other creature. To the extent thatthey are decipherable, the lyrics are also animal-inspired. The opener,"On The Way (to Oklahoma)" in part follows the travails of a fly as itflies about, stopping to "feast on a dog/ lying in the heat." Most ofthe other vocals are too distorted to hear clearly, and are sometimesso adulterated as to be unbearably grating, not actually sounding likea bug but a train derailment. There are some very enchanting melodieson the more instrumental tracks: "Ingrid's Oily Tongue" features alonely opera soprano vocal dueting with a mellow horn and synth (mademe think of a snake), and the busy backbeat of "Mr. Bee's Bumble"manages to overcome the nearly insufferable vocal interludes. AnimalLover's most enjoyable moment is "Inner Space," when the femalevocalist's (the Residents have refused to reveal their identiesthroughout their forty-year career) hauntingly beautiful alto isallowed to be heard unruined by the effects, keeping time to a starkand mysterious background complete with tintinnabulating bells.Disturbing and lovely. As a novelty, Animal Lover is notable andunique: in my knowledge, nothing quite like it has ever been donebefore, at least not to this extent. As one of the Residents' manyaccomplishments, however, which include scoring Pee Wee's Playhouse,Dadaist interpretations of Elvis and the Beatles, and a memorable40-song album that snuck its way onto the Billboard Top 40, it ranksway down the pecking order. Fans of the Residents may dismiss suchcriticism as uncomprehending, or Phillistinic, but it's spot-on: asmusic most of Animal Lover is neither pleasing nor impressive (asidefrom being very, very different), two key components of any enjoyablealbum with lasting appeal aside from mere novelty.samples:
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