Tomahawk — Mit Gas

The attention Tomahawk got after the release of their self-titled debut album (reviewed here) was amazing. I went to see them live in Amsterdam and the place was packed. I'm glad these kind of bands get the attention they deserve, I'm all for people getting to know good music. Now with second album Mit Gas being released Tomahawk might get even some more recognition.

Mike Patton, Duane Denison, Kevin Rutmanis and John Stanier return pretty fast with a new album. Tomahawk was always meant to be a band, not a one-off project from Mike Patton. So unlike I wrote in my review of their first album, this time everyone get's equal kudos. It's always funny to read how magazines write about how weird this music is. Odd, since Mit Gas isn't really that weird compared to some of the other projects Mike Patton has been involved with. Mit Gas is a bunch of well written songs, sometimes performed with some oddities thrown in, like a mouthharp or electronics for instance. Mike's vocals might be a bit overwhelming at times, but I guess I'm used to it after listening to most of his discography through the years.

Mit Gas is not really a huge departure from their debut. The music is built around Duane's playfull riffs and Mike's varied vocals. It's maybe a bit heavier than before. The album starts out with Birdsong and Rape This Day. Especially the latter will be great to hear live since it's my favourite song on the album together with Capt Midnight. This song experiments a bit with some drum 'n bass beats and then bursts into this loud wall of guitars. Desastre Natural is a song I wouldn't expect to show up on a Tomahawk record. It's an Italian ballad, which would fit better at a Mr Bungle live show (it reminds me of the cover 10.000 Baci). Nevertheless it's pretty good, eventhough I suspect this is some sort of a joke. When The Stars Begin To Fall wakes you up and with Harelip the album starts to reach it's rockier end. Harlem Clowns is some psychedlic ambient song and last track Aktion 13F14 starts out quietly and ends in a wall of litteral noise.

Mit Gas isn't much different from it's predessor. But most of the songs are good enough for me. I was a bit let down at first, but after continueing listening sessions Mit Gas opened up for me. The band did what they do best and delivered a strong album. I find the two last tracks a bit weak, but those didn't spoil the fun I got from the rest of the tracks. Mit Gas is a worthy successor and should give Tomahawk some more recognition among music fans, like, for instance, Mr Bungle did in their days.