If you are a Primus fan in any shape or form (including the one depicted on the Riddles' cover), or you simply have a taste for the esoteric, be sure to check out this trio consisting of Les Claypool (bass and vocals), Jay Lane (drums) and Todd Huth (guitars and vocals).
I was moping around about the fact that Primus hadn't released a new album this year, but this album satisfies my appetite somewhat. It is dominated by the Claypool style of bass-playing, which you are so familiar with, but also has a lot more: there's a very jazz-y aspect to many of the songs. The guitars are interesting; it is where the separation begins and while it is not as imaginative as Larry LaLonde's playing, it is definitely more stable and at times very trippy. Instead of having weird leads filled with manic bass playing and drumming, the leads are rhythmic in nature and appear consistently throughout the songs. The drums are the only disappointment as far as I am concerned: Tim Alexander was simply brilliant with his fills, and here they seem to be lacking in power. But that might highlight the toned-down minimalistic approach Claypool seems to have taken in this side-project. As usual, every song in this album is excellent!
It might seem unfair that I am comparing this album to Primus' stuff, but it is unavoidable: Claypool hasn't transcended his Primal roots (in fact, the people in this group all precede Primus). But what he has done is embrace it with glee and proceeded to improvise further---it is as quirky as it can get, the bass playing is as intense as ever, and still has enough punch in it to make for a great mosh!