Culture

Alternative metal supergroup Tomahawk are back with their first album in six years. Instead of picking up where the Native American-inspired Anonymous left off, the Mike Patton-led band of misfits have taken the Tomahawk sound back to its very roots, producing something truly unique. As the smirk-inducing cover might suggest, vehemence and grit has been traded in for a Melvins-like breed of eccentricity. In other words, Oddfellows often sounds like it’s taking the piss. Whether this is a positive or a negative will vary from listener to listener.

The tracks on Oddfellows can be easily divided into two categories – the pulverising rock tunes and the spookier, more subdued jazz-slash-lounge numbers. As exhilarating as songs like “South Paw” and the stomping title track are, Oddfellows’s quieter moments have more personality. Brain-damaged ballad “I.O.U.” genuinely tugs at the heartstrings, whilst “Rise Up Dirty Waters” and “I Can Almost See Them” whisk the listener away to that same eerie Twin Peaks place Patton conjured on Mr. Bungle’s second album, Disco Volante.

Despite the frequent changes in genre and volume, Oddfellows sustains a palpable identity throughout. It doesn’t have the gnash of Tomahawk’s eponymous debut, the polish of Mit Gas, or the hypnosis of Anonymous, but it makes up for that with its diversity and unsettling atmosphere.

All in all, Oddfellows is a thrilling and colourful addition to Tomahawk’s discography, even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights of their best work.

4/5