Word: ween
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Resembling The Beatles' "Octopus' Garden" a little too closely, "Polka Dot Tail" couples the eternal question "Have you ever seen a whale/With a polka dot tail" with "Have you ever tried to shrink/Like an ice cube in the sink." Apparently these are pertinent questions to the waterlogged minds of Ween's 11 band members. Exploring nothing musically or lyrically novel, "The Golden Eel" trudges through an unrevealing revelation: "Watching the eel/Help me find the way home...Daylight has come/I can not repeal/The words of the golden eel." The biggest problem for these two songs is not simply the uninventive prose...
...notably entertaining if not more enigmatic ("Mutilated lips give a kiss on the wrist/Of the worm like tips of tentacles expanding/In my mind, I'm fine, accepting only fresh brine"), as distorted vocals play off a mysterious, entrancing groove. The drugged-up atmosphere adds to the impression that Ween spends too much time detached from reality. On the path to songs with music and lyrics that actually coexist peacefully and beautifully, "Ocean Man" is about halfway to triumph. Sedate country-flavored guitar licks and thick, echoing vocals lay out an animated melodic atmosphere that may wake up the part...
...Although Ween really picks up the tempo only with some horribly repetitive electronica and an absolutely pointless tale in "I'll Be Your Jonny On The Spot," they do break up the monotony of the ocean waves at the album's beginning, adding an uncluttered dimension to the album by simply being basic...
Within the not-so-confining boundaries of their briny expanse, Ween compiles a set of songs that could make up a workable concept album--except there is no commonality to strike any mental or emotional chord. Even the unrequited love song "It's Gonna Be (Alright)" is passive; cliched lyrics ("So many dark and lonely nights/But I believe someday I'll see the light") contribute to the already blase sounds and harmonic whispers of the static background...
...Mollusk, the experimental means to an end do not provide any substance. That Ween was up to the challenge is valiant, but the subject matter flattens any hope for success. Maybe next time the group will look to a brighter, more accessible topic and shock the music world with an unpredictable comic brilliance. For now, though, The Mollusk crawls on by with little notice...