Drake Equation

Album Review

One gets a sense of Drake Equation from the initial track, which starts with a rather surfy organ and guitar before pulling you straight into Faith No More-ish heavy metal, and then back again. This kind of transition happens frequently in this album, giving it a pastiche feeling not heard since Mr. Bungle's California. The connection to Mr. Bungle is particularly strong since the guitarist of that band, Trey Spruance, produced this album as well as helped out with some of the instrumental mayhem. Tub Ring's Kevin Gibson is a near-soundalike for that other Mike (Patton), but Gibson doesn't quite have the range of voice that the ex-Faith No More vocalist can achieve. Songs will begin in one style, before quickly transitioning into a second; a third will be quickly skipped through, and then back to the original. A highlight of this stylish mishmash is the track "Bernard's Three Awakenings," resembling nothing so much as if one wakes up from one dream or nightmare to find oneself residing in another. The track begins with sweet, up-tempo pop-punk, cutting to complete grindcore (Cookie Monster-like garbled vox and all), switching to a spronky banjo and bouncy rhythm (with tempo changes!) before hitting the pop-punk again for a bar or two of something resembling a chorus. This is a prime album for those with short attention spans; everything is motion. Sometimes the cuts between styles or tempo occur fluidly, other times cutting tighter than a bad montage in an MTV video. If not for its own merits, this album provides fine material for fans waiting for the next Mr. Bungle masterpiece.