Puscifier
Money Shot
30 October 2015
Rocket
Review by Cameron Cooper
When a project exists primarily as the creative platform of one as eccentric as Maynard James Keenan, the output is always going to be something special – one way or the other. Chances are, the views people have on Keenan fall into one of two camps: “genius and aural visionary”, or “that pretentious bloke from Tool”. But like all things, the truth is rarely black and white: Keenan might not be reinventing the wheel, but he certainly has something to say.
It seems fairly obvious that the droning monologue of Simultaneous and spiteful lyrics of The Remedy aren’t Keenan’s odes to his own intelligence, but are instead tongue-in-cheek responses to his naysayers (and, perhaps, self parody). There is a dry humour that peppers the album, interspersed between the subdued, trip hop bass pulses and post-rock guitar trembles. Aside from the agro-rock of the album’s title track, this is a solid, enveloping collection of subtle tones and melancholy textures.
