Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: Puscifer

PUSCIFER

Telling Ghosts

From: Conditions of My Parole

Released: October 18

In case you couldn’t tell from the album artwork for Puscifer’s second album Conditions of My Parole, Maynard James Keenan doesn’t take his third band and oft electronica-tinged side project all that seriously.  Then, there’s the utterly silly, redneck-lampooning video for the album’s title track, crammed with enough mullets and whiskey bottles to convince you you’re watching a Jerry Springer production.  All of these stunts amount to crude slapstick that serves as a ludicrous distraction from the music.  And, in the case of Conditions of My Parole, I can’t understand why all the deflection.

If Tool is the Maynard’s proud legacy in rock and A Perfect Circle its slightly lesser known but equally respected cousin, then Puscifer has been treated like his redheaded stepchild, designed to be pointed and laughed at like a common novelty act.  And debut album V is for Vagina suited the role; all processed beats, moody synth clatters and needlessly corny artwork; it was as unremarkable as Maynard gets.  In fact, I wasn’t interested in the follow-up in the least, especially when I heard lead single Man Overboard, a slow burning mid-tempo jam whose lyrics amount to what’s likely a big joke about masturbation.  The title track matches its hokey video; the lyric sheet might as well be ripped from a Cops script.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for MJK cracking jokes; he’s spent enough time brooding in his other two bands and could surely use a laugh as much as any of us. However, the rest of Conditions of My Parole is a very good, (seemingly) straightforward and well-written album. And, though the songs lack the bombast of Tool or APC, there’s atmosphere to spare. Telling Ghosts is a highlight for most because it resembles Keenan’s work with A Perfect Circle. But it’s a highlight for me because it’s a great song that isn’t burdened with eye-rolling attempts at shock and/or comedy. It’s also the track that convinced me I needed to own this album after hearing its legal stream. As I mentioned earlier, I had no interest in the album, but the stream changed my mind. There’s a whole column about that waiting to happen (and probably will in early 2012). My only wish for Maynard (aside from making haste on that new Tool album they’re reportedly recording) is that he realizes that his work with Puscifer can and should be appreciated on its own merits and stand beside his more renowned work, if he should choose to stop demeaning it by prioritizing gags over guts.