Despite the similarity in the phrasing of the titles, Bass maestro and former Primus frontman Les Claypool's Of Fungi and Foe is an entirely different animal from his last release, Of Whales and Woe. Gone are the jam band touches like the sitar and saxophone, even the guitar. What's left is a primal, percussive framework driven by Claypool's innovative bass playing and unique lyrical style, this time inspired by film (Pig Hunt) and video game (Mushroom Men) projects he's been participating in.
The first two tracks, "Mushroom Men" and "Amanitas" are really two parts of a whole, both driven by a simple but effective march beat by some shotgun drumming. This expertly mirrors the B-movie concept of giant mutant mushroom men terrorizing puny human beings. Claypool's vocals here are mixed somewhere in the middle and are alternately whispery and gutteral. This, combined with eerie fingernails-on-chalkboard flurries every now and then perfectly create the mood the lyrics reflect.
"Red State Girl" may be the most overtly hilarious song on the album. Lyrically, it is abound with redneck stereotypes like dirty fingernails, too much eye make-up, big, blond hair and a hero worship of Sarah Palin. Interestingly enough, the song is moved along with a trance-like beat provided by the tabla, a traditional Indian drum.
"Booneville Stomp" is like the war march of mighty trolls, courtesy of aggressive, tribal drumming. But the song begins and ends with an eerie fade courtesy of the whamola, a child of the washtub bass that Claypool has popularized. The metal pipe provides a unique echo effect to the clap of the string being hit by a drum stick.
Like a demented children's song with Claypool's intentionally overblown vaudevillian vocals, "What Would Sir George Martin Do" features bouncy marimba and what sounds like a multi-armed insect hitting the drums very precisely. There's a slide whistle solo from Claypool's 12-year-old son Cage. The lyrics spin a tale about the successes and mishaps of an overseas vacation. Some of the details are so specific it wouldn't be surprising if all of this actually happened.
Because of the addition of Eugene Hutz, the wild frontman from Gogol Bordello, "Bite Out Of Life" has energetic "gypsy sauce," as Claypool writes in the liner notes. The song has the most traditional set-up on the album, with Claypool's bass playing somewhat straightforward but still in the forefront. The drums seem to have been recorded as naked as possible, this natural vibe adding to the gypsy stomp. Hutz' frenetic acoustic strumming is the only guitar on the album. His vocals are equally spastic and nearly unintelligable but the raw passion is palpable.
"Kazoo" is low-key avant-jazz on muscle relaxers. Think Tom Waits drinking codeine cough syrup while seeping down a sewer. At first the lyrics seem to be talking about a woman but half-way through the song it's realized the main character is a dog.
Despite a couple redundancies, Of Fungi and Foe is another triumph for the prolific Les Claypool. With every album he looks towards a future of his own design and that's what makes him an important force against the homogenization of popular music.
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