Bursts of funk, drips of hardcore, a large helping of punk, and just a touch of jazz come together on Big Walnuts Yonder’s eponymous debut. Sometimes, it descends fully into sound collage mode, and unless you’re really in a listening mode, you’ll find that hard to take. But if you are—or if you’ve got a good buzz on—a song like Flare Star Phantom can be a journey into punk jazz. Kinda cool And the album is smart about it. It starts with its most accessible songs (which are still experimental and trippy), and then descends sharply into answering the question, “What if Jerry Garcia was really into Fugazi?”
So how does a band of indie misfits accomplish something as musical, and fascinating, as this record? Simple. It’s a supergroup. Mike “The Stooges” Watt. Nels “Wilco” Cline. Greg “Deerhoof” Saunier. Nick “Tera Melos” Reinhart. And there’s a little bit of each of their home bands in this album—call it art-rock if you want, but to me it’s pure DIY punk.
And a bargain at $10 on bandcamp.
