Aural Aggravation

Yesterday, I discovered that the company I work for by way of a dayjob not only has a nut-free floor in its primary office on account of allergies – I get it, the potential for anaphylactic shock and death is something that requires precaution – but it also has two floors where strawberries are prohibited, and another which is a banana-free zone.

I began to consider the practicalities. How do these people get to their designated floors safely? How do they even get to the office? What do they do about supermarket shopping? After all, strawberries and bananas are out there. In fact, they’re on the street in front of various greengrocers’ near me. While I was considering this, the new Melvins single landed in my inbox. It’s as if they had planned to provide the soundtrack to my contemplations.

Yes, Melvins have shared a second song from their forthcoming album, Tarantula Heart (April 19, Ipecac Recordings), with today’s release of ‘Allergic to Food’.

Check it here:

“The way we approached Tarantula Heart was different than any other Melvins’ album,” explains Buzz Osborne. “I had Dale and Roy Mayorga come in and play along with Steven and I to some riffs, then I took those sessions and figured out what parts would work and wrote new music to fit. This isn’t a studio approach we’ve ever taken. Usually we have the songs written BEFORE we start recording!”

“The majority of Tarantula Heart has dual drum parts,” adds long-time Melvins drummer Dale Crover. “Roy is an amazing drummer. We would discuss what we would do pattern wise, then we’d just go for it. Improvising riffs and trading off on drum fills.”

Recorded, mixed and co-produced by longtime Melvins’ collaborator Toshi Kasai, the album also features We Are The Asteroid guitar player Gary Chester. Gary and the Melvins’ history goes back to their days on Boner Records, with the guitar player formerly having been a part of the legendary band, Ed Hall.