Rat Farm
| Rat Farm | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Meat Puppets | ||||
| Released | April 16, 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2012-2013 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 45:53 | |||
| Label | Megaforce Records | |||
| Meat Puppets chronology | ||||
| ||||
Rat Farm is the fourteenth full-length studio album by the Meat Puppets. It was released on April 16, 2013, through Megaforce Records.[1]
Curt Kirkwood, the band's singer/guitarist and primary songwriter, described the album as "real blown-out folk music".[2] He elaborated: "I tried to write stuff that would stand on its own — just the chords and the melodies, and play it kind of straight... I think that was the guiding boundary that I gave myself. It was one of those things where a lot of times, in the past especially, [bassist Cris Kirkwood] would go, ‘Well, that’s all there is? Let’s put a prog rock part in the middle.’ But I tried to hold it off as much as I could."[1]
Reception
As of June 2013, based on 17 reviews, Rat Farm has a score of 74 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3] This is the highest score of their albums released since 2000.[4] The Independent described the album as "dizzying psychedelic country in finest Meat Puppets tradition, full of slightly off-centre harmonies in Grateful Dead manner, and plenty of Kirkwood's swirling, trippy guitar."[5] Allmusic said: "The tracks on their 14th outing are the closest they've come in a long time to the colorful, no-frills brand of twangy alt-rock and informal punk (with hints of Americana, country, folk, and prog) that they instilled on their SST records."[6] The Austin Chronicle said that Curt Kirkwood "continues penning some of the strongest, sweetest, and compellingly twisted material of his already storied songwriting career," and that "[t]here's enough distorted weirdness, easygoing melodies, and guitar both hard and jangly to demonstrate why the Meat Puppets influenced both Nirvana and R.E.M."[7]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rat Farm" | 3:54 |
| 2. | "One More Drop" | 3:46 |
| 3. | "Down" | 3:25 |
| 4. | "Leave Your Head Alone" | 4:20 |
| 5. | "Again" | 3:25 |
| 6. | "You Don’t Know" | 4:13 |
| 7. | "Waiting" | 3:14 |
| 8. | "Time and Money" | 3:51 |
| 9. | "Sometimes Blue" | 3:48 |
| 10. | "Original One" | 4:12 |
| 11. | "River Rose" | 3:22 |
| 12. | "Sweet" | 4:22 |
| Total length: | 45:53 | |
Personnel
- Curt Kirkwood - vocals, guitars
- Cris Kirkwood - vocals, bass guitar
- Shandon Sahm - drums
References
- 1 2 Kyle McGovern, Feb. 8, 2013, Spin. Meat Puppets 'Play it Straight' on 14th Studio Album 'Rat Farm'. retrieved Feb. 19, 2013
- ↑ The Meat Puppets Create 'Real Blown-Out Folk Music' on 'Rat Farm' - Album Premiere, John Blistein, Rolling Stone, April 14, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ↑ "Rat Farm Reviews". Metacritic. 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ↑ "Meat Puppets Profile". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ↑ Andy Gill (2013-04-12). "Album review: Meat Puppets, Rat Farm (Megaforce) - Reviews - Music". The Independent. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ↑ Lymangrover, Jason (2013-04-16). "Rat Farm - Meat Puppets : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ↑ "Review: Meat Puppets - Music". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-06-10.