Les Claypool
Of Fungi and Foe

THE REVIEW

That Les Claypool has become a cult figure is an established fact. That his art and genius, starting from Blind Illusion and reaching Primus and his solo works, are globally recognized (though still not enough, unfortunately) is well-known. But until this point, good Les had never arrived.

For those who have not yet listened to the album, what I am about to explain will be a simple anecdote, while for those who have already had the chance to hear it, it might explain the reason for some of the sounds present on the album. The songs on this LP, in fact, were commissioned from Claypool to form the soundtrack of a video game, "Mushroom Men", in which an asteroid hits Earth and gives intelligence to mushrooms, and for a film titled "Pig Hunt". According to the bassist himself, the atmospheres on which his pieces were supposed to be based inspired him to such an extent that "the music came out of my pores, not from my head". Naturally, with such premises, one can well imagine where the album in question will head.

12 hallucinatory, hallucinatory, and hallucinogenic tracks, in which Claypool's ever-more grotesque voice accompanies, with lyrics that stay traditionally ironic and irreverent ("Sir George Martin, Sir George Martin...What Would Sir George Martin Do?") bizarre and mad music, that magnifies to the maximum those already hinted and heard in the works with Primus, such as in "Over The Falls" and "Pork Soda"; Les's bass remains always at the center of attention as the undisputed protagonist (and not just the electric bass: Les also plays the bass banjo, resonator bass, and whamola) and it is greatly altered, tortured, and wrung by Claypool, producing sounds and effects absolutely sui generis, yet always effective. Daring, eccentric, distinctly original and peculiar sounds that hit the mark. However, as a reviewer, it becomes extremely difficult to describe in words what Claypool's mind has conceived; listen to it to believe it.

Les's music thus becomes increasingly personal, and I would venture to say that from this album we could begin to talk about "Claypool-style songs"; just as the bassist had already left his mark in the '90s with Primus, as a solo artist he could really become even a forefather of a certain way of making music, an approach and a trend that could gain more and more listeners and imitators. But even if it doesn't happen, this "Of Fungi and Foe" will equally remain yet another demonstration of the multifaceted, complex, and wonderful art of Leslie Edward Claypool.