When first listening to Four Foot Shack by Duo De Twang you would be forgiven for asking “what the hell is this?”. Is it a bluegrass duo, novelty adult contemporary, blatant hoedown revivalism, or gonzo rock masquerading as country twang? In reality it is a window into the mind of a musician who has a singular view of the world and the sounds it contains.
The album sound as if two friends went
out into the woods with their guitar, bass banjo, and stomp box and
had at it. Yeah you read that right: bass banjo. This is an easy
trick to pull because that is pretty much what happened … apart
from the woods thing. The friends are Les Claypool (from Primus and
such) and his longtime friend and collaborator Bryan Kehoe. Claypool is acting like usual cartoony self so
there are no surprises there, but Kehoe is sure acting like somebody
trying to make a name for himself. Les handles vocal duties like
he always does but the biggest change from business-as-usual is that
he leaves most of the instrumental wizardry to his partner. The hefty
thwack of that bass banjo is generally used as the rhythm section,
allowing Kehoe's flash finger-picked guitar to take over the role of
soloist.
Think of this as Les Claypool Unplugged
but studio recorded instead of live. He barrels through both his own
back catalogue and the Primus canon with reckless abandon. A couple
of the Primus hits get radical makeovers. Every single one of Les' solo
albums are represented, from 96's Highball With the Devil to 2009's
Of Fungi and Foe. Throw in some blues and country standards, two
bizarre modern covers, put a bow on it and call it Four Foot Shack.
Some will cry foul at what
has been done to 'Jerry Was a Racecar Driver', 'Wynnona's Big Brown
Beaver', and Alice in Chains' 'Man in the Box'. The new facelifts
take some getting used to but ultimately it adds new
dimensions to these old favourites.
On paper, this album had the potential
to be a disaster; the byproduct of an eccentric genius who went too
far down his personal rabbit hole, overdosing on quirk-over-substance
music. Some of the covers were probably chosen for shock value alone.
Ubiquitous Bee Gees hit 'Stayin' Alive' slides completely out of
disco and lands in some sort of backwater funk. The chorus really has
to be heard to be believed. But you have to take your hat off to
these guys: there aren't many artists today who could reinvent their
songs as an Americana duo and have them make more sense than the
original versions. 'Red State Girl', 'Boonville Stomp', and 'D's
Diner' benefit immensely from the campfire, sing-along treatment.
This makes for a fun, carefree album that will make you want to come
back time and time again.
Les Claypool has built another musical
persona in Duo De Twang. It serves as a framework on which he hangs
sketches of his existing works, letting a new voice have a shot at
turning out 'the standards'. These are revealed to be more than mere
songs – they are folklore. It makes for a strange world where the
fictional and factual rub shoulders - populated by historical
battles, backwater folk, racecar drivers, fishermen, and hucksters.
Let's be honest here, most people listening to this are already
diehard Les Claypool and / or Primus fans. By and large they are as
prepared for this album as they could ever be.
Rating: A
Recommended tracks: Boonville Stomp, Stayin' Alive, Jerry Was a Racecar Driver
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