mr. Gnome - Deliver This Creature

The term “sludge” may imply a thick, muddy, gooey substance, but mr. Gnome’s Deliver this Creature is anything but cloudy or vague, as this Ohio two-piece sections out their niche with a hatchet instead of masking it in a thick fog. Comparisons to Isis and Pelican may be fair, but the sludge metal sound is just one facet to mr. Gnome. While it is hard to describe their sound without using the word “meets,” or by dropping several other band names into a blender, it’s important to note that mr. Gnome doesn’t borrow from others, nor does he cut and paste. mr. Gnome makes the whole much greater than the sum of its parts.

While the sludgy grindcore of Isis’ Oceanic (as its name implies) did make me feel lost at sea, drifting aimlessly, occasionally being tossed about by merciless waves. mr. Gnome’s Deliver this Creature feels more like a desert, but it’s anything but lifeless. It’s seemingly endless. It’s incendiary. The outcome is uncertain, but instead of plodding along wondering if you’ve covered any ground at all, imagine yourself blazing through it all in a fucking dune buggy.

This album has a dynamic pacing like that of the Melvins’ (A) Senile Animal, times two. It’s hard to find one boring or uninteresting moment on this album, although there are times where you might mistakenly think you’re dozing off to Fugazi’s the Argument (”I’m Alright,” “the Machine,” “Pirates”). mr. Gnome may be quick to play the Sandman and lull you into a narcotic hypersleep, but as soon as your eyes are closed, he’s yelling “wake the fuck up!” It’s hard to explain how something that sounds this dangerous can also be this delicate.

The album’s only misstep is the seemingly obligatory hidden track. Are tracks hidden when they just don’t fit? Does a band do this when they consider a song too “out there” to be included with the rest? I think this track is hidden because it sounds like spending a sunny afternoon in your backyard listening to windchimes, which doesn’t quite measure up after you’ve spent who knows how long in the desert on a dune buggy.

mr. Gnome - Pirates

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