Lactating Purple in Bloomington, MN

More lineup changes (this time around it's bassist
Paul Kirk
, drummer
Paul Della Pelle
, and synth person
Z Silver
) but as to be expected the same general modus operandi from
Creed
; anyone not convinced by his art won't be swayed here, anyone who loves it will enjoy this. Still, compared to his earliest solo efforts, the half-hour long
Purple
is a touch more run-of-the-mill; there's nothing as distinct as
Rey Washam
's killer drumming on
Boxing the Clown
or
Jack Endino
's solid production for
The Last Laugh
on this self-produced effort. When everything connects, though, it's more spaced-out/weirded-out goods from the master of such things.
"Spider"
is one of his best vocals (as opposed to simply being a guitar showcase), revisiting the low rumbles of
"Boris the Spider"
with an even more threatening edge. Sometimes the notable layering of maximum sound achieves new levels even for
, with everything notably overloading on
"Ub the Wall."
Other times it's more straightforward drug-tempo freakouts like
"Modular Green,"
which does the launched-into-the-void approach pretty darn well, slowly fading away into squeals and shades of feedback and fuzz.
"Flying Through the Either"
shows what can happen when
applies a little restraint, most of the track consisting of an extended, generally lighter in feeling solo than many of his more explosive blasts of sludge.
"The Radiated,"
meanwhile, is full-on hero-prog-rock epic fun that isn't as ridiculous as it sounds thanks as always to
's guitar skills (and the fact that it's barely two minutes long, as well). The good points throughout
Lactating
don't fully measure up to a distinct album in the end, though, so those looking for a good starting place for
would want to search elsewhere. Dyed-in-the-wool fans will happily embrace this without regret. ~ Ned Raggett