Melvins: Honky

Ask the members of Melvins about Prick, their last full-length album for the Amphetamine Reptile label, and they'll probably tell you that the poorly recorded piece of shit was released as a joke. As if to make up for it, they spent last year recording a new 7" single every month for the label, and now there's a new 10-song full length. Honky finds Melvins back in fine form, with a blend of metal, punk, and post-punk that makes you want to buy a denim jacket just so you can paint the band's name on the back. Following a slow, scary opening, Honky kicks in with "Mobius Hibachi," a defibrillating number that stops before you've had enough. Fortunately, the album delivers more of the same, varying the pitch here and there for breathing space. One of those slower songs, "Laughing With Lucifer At Satan's Sideshow," is an annoying, keyboard-heavy deal that redeems itself by restaging inane conversations with representatives from Atlantic, the major label that signed Melvins without knowing what to do with it. On Honky, the band members give you your money's worth, even throwing in a bit extra for what you lost on Prick. Very good of them.