Fickle Finger of Fate

There's a school of thought that says there's no reason for a longtime member of a working band to make a solo album unless they want to do something they can't do within the context of the group. Dale Crover has been playing drums with the Melvins for over 30 years, and while it's hard to imagine what he couldn't do within the context of that group, well known for their eccentric streak, one can honestly say that his first full-length solo album, 2017's The Fickle Finger of Fate, doesn't sound quite like a Melvins record, or at least not most of the time. Coming from the drummer of a band that explores the outer edges of heaviness on a regular basis, the most surprising thing about The Fickle Finger of Fate is Crover's skewed but genuine pop sensibility. There's an easygoing folky quality to "Little Brother" and the title cut that suggests Crover has a weakness for vintage psychedelia. "I Found the Way Out" could pass for a lost Pink Floyd track in dim light, and "Bad Move" sounds graciously and gratefully stoned. Crover also pounds out some swaggering boogie rock on "Hillbilly Math" that cooks with gas, and while there's serious heaviness on "Big 'Uns" and "Thunder Pinky," the tone and effect is certainly different than what would expect if Buzz Osborne was on guitar instead of Crover. (Crover took on most of the instrumental duties on FFoF, along with frequent Melvins collaborator Toshi Kasai.) There are also a number of short percussion-based tracks where Crover gets to show his impressive level of nuance while hitting things, as well as a few samples of confounding studio weirdness like "Tiny Sound/I Don't Know, Why?" and "There Goes the Neighborhoods." The average Melvins fan will doubtless find a lot to like about The Fickle Finger of Fate, but you don't necessarily have to follow Crover's day job to appreciate the tuneful eccentricity of his side project. ~ Mark Deming