History has proven that some combinations just don't blend well. Oil and water. OJ and bleach. Honesty and politics. Styx and opera. You get the idea.
Other combinations, however, coalesce magnificently, oftentimes conveying the impression that they were perhaps predestined; star-crossed soul mates concealed under the nose of the masses until happenstance aligns them in harmony. Such is especially the case with two of the elements constituting Tomahawk's third studio effort: Native American hymns and Mike Patton. The idea for the album began when guitarist Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard), while touring American Reservations with Hank Williams III, sought to explore the deeper, more kinetic sounds of Native American culture after his disappointment with much of the more modernized blues and new age music performed by the tribes. He found what he quested for in a songbook dating from the early 20th century comprised of anonymous Native hymns. Teaming up with Patton (Faith No More, Fantomas, Peeping Tom) and drummer John Stainer (Helmet, Battles), the result is a collection of reinterpretations simply titled Anonymous. Patton does a fantastic job putting a unique spin on the vocal elements; which is not surprising for someone whose talent seems to know no bounds. Denison's guitar work is tasteful, providing a new sound for the hymns while retaining their emotive core, and Stainer contributes rhythms capable of making even the naysayers throw their arms up to the sky to participate in the dance of life. Spanning the sonic gamut of the deep and dark, from the eerie and phantasmal ("Cradle Song") to the up-tempo and celebratory ("Song of Victory"), the album reaffirms that with Tomahawk, one can only expect the unexpected. This supergroup of the underground is a treasure for the lover of the eccentric and innovative. A taste for the deliciously bizarre, and an homage to the indigenous: finally, something truly American.
--Bill Braun
