Underground "supergroups" aren't necessarily less superfluous or embarrassing than the major-label dinosaurs who started the trend, but one still hopes that when unsung artists unite under a common creative spark it's for the sake of the art. Tomahawk have managed to sound like less than the sum of their parts for two records now, but this time, they've come together for to flesh out a nobler and more artistic concept. They're now a three-piece featuring Duane Dension, guitarist of Jesus Lizard, John Stanier, drummer of Helmet and the justly-hyped Battles, and vocalist and chronic collaborator Mike Patton, who this website alone has called "an icon," a "psychotic misanthrope," "the Devil on holiday," a "greasy-ass on of a bitch," and "King Shit of Fuck Mountain." (What's become of Melvins' Kevin Rutmanis, formerly on bass, is a mystery). The curveball: Rather than the predictable freak-metal they've pursued on their previous albums, Anonymous takes the band name to heart and interprets Native American compositions, researched by Denison while touring reservations with Hank Williams III. And here I thought Patton had run out of ways to alienate people and limit his own appeal.
What's it sound like? A lot like two talented musicians pushing themselves to find new contexts for Patton to grunt over. Dension plays it straight for the most part, playing slow and woozy clean guitar lines on tracks like "Ghost Dance" and "Cradle Song", rooting us in the familiar and evoking the creepier quiet moments of Jesus Lizard songs where listeners patiently waited to get their asses kicked, and the occasional hyper-compressed power-chord thud to keep it lively. Patton is listed as doing some percussion, but the burden of authenticity falls upon Stanier, who's got to not only mimic the backbeat of an entire culture's music, but to add new textures and be the group's historical anchor while still driving the more metal and industrial moments. One listen to "Mescal Rite 1" proves he can do all of it ably, even if Patton's contributions make or break the directions each composition takes. The calmer moments of the album can sound like a window into a past ritual, as it does on the surprisingly subtle "Ghost Dance", or with his diverse delivery on the downright perky "Antelope Ceremony". Elsewhere, it sounds like an alternate soundtrack to Poltergeist 2 with the hammy keyboards and self-consciously spooky chanting of "War Song" or the collision of flutes and lazer noises in "Mescal Rite 1". And then sometimes, it sounds like Massive Attack ("Mescal Rite 2").
To the band's credit, even the cheesiest songs show genuine respect for the originals, as they play these rhythms and themes without any watering-down or Westernization. Good idea or not, it's hardly a caricature. On top of that, it's an immersive listen that undoubtedly creates an atmosphere; only on the seventh track "Song of Victory" do they even begin to sound like a live band and not as if they're scoring a movie. Anonymous does show more potential for Tomahawk and justifies their existence beyond the mere gimmick of a supergroup, but how many listeners this odd, headstrong little record will reach is difficult to picture.
