The Dead Milkmen - The King In Yellow
The Dead Milkmen
The King In Yellow
The Dead Milkmen’s extensive catalog contains some not-so-uplifting tunes such as “Life is Shit” and “If You Love Somebody, Set Them On Fire,” and the band re-formed in 2004 under the unfortunate circumstance of performing memorial shows for late bassist Dave Schulthise, who committed suicide. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that, with 16 years between albums, the venerated Philadelphia punk rockers created a pretty dark record with The King In Yellow.
The downside of that is The King In Yellow doesn’t have the snarky humor of classic Milkmen records like Big Lizard in My Backyard or Beelzebubba. There is no reincarnation of “Punk Rock Girl” or “Bitchin’ Camaro.” Instrumentally, it is an organic exchange between their flagship poppy, melodic harmonies and fast, abrasive distortion but lyrically, vocalist/keyboardist Rodney Linderman’s themes are morbid and violent. The first 90 seconds of “The King In Yellow / William Bloat” is a deceptively upbeat instrumental melody that segues into a cold, depressing story of murder and suicide. Even guitarist/vocalist Joe Genaro’s songs perpetuate the same dark and morose design. The progressive melody of “Cold Hard Ground” uniquely fuses violin harmonies and distorted guitars and is ultimately marred by the cold-blooded story of a man on a murderous rampage.
With 17 songs, there’s a lot to forget about on The King In Yellow. For a band whose biggest commercial success was found in snotty, silly punk-rock songs, this new identity is a tough sell for a casual Dead Milkmen fan.
Self-released http://www.deadmilkmen.com
