Review Summary: X: It's the most reassuring statement the band could offer: that Primus were still a honed, tuned vehicle.
Antipop was the nail in the coffin for Primus. Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde, and Bryan Mantia, for all of their weirdness, were never able to steer their vehicle back onto the highway. It became apparent that nu-metal was not how Primus should be, and in response to that discomfort, the trio disbanded. From 2000 to 2003, the members danced around side projects, until one fateful day where Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde, and once-former member Tim “Herb” Alexander came together once again to record a five-song EP:
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People. Though it has its share of stinkers,
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People is the most reassuring statement the band could offer: that Primus were still a honed, tuned vehicle.
The
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People EP holds a mere five songs, but all five of those songs are newly written tracks. Even more interesting is that all five of the tracks are ripped from various eras of Primus’ history. Unlike
Antipop, which was filled to the brim with nu-metal riff,
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People sounds like Primus, start to finish. Les Claypool is back to mixing up his vocals and bouncing his bass, Larry LaLonde is back to his nimble solos, and even Tim Alexander is right at home with his jazzy, polyrhythmic drumming. This return to the roots gives
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People a thunderous perversion that was so absent in
The Brown Album and
Antipop. The difference is more than noticeable; from the second the opener “The Carpenter and the Dainty Bride” revs up, you’ll know that Primus are running the show again.
As for the songs themselves, once again, this is a very mixed bag. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, as the eras the sounds are lifted from still have a ton of panache. “Mary the Ice Cube” has low bass hums from Claypool, thumping drums from Alexander, and echoing guitars from LaLonde. The song calls back to the
Pork Soda days, but doesn’t sound nearly as grim, so it fits in with the slower tracks on
Tales From the Punchbowl. “The Last Superpower aka Rapscallion” has a tighter production, so at times, it can sound like a B-side from
Antipop. But unlike many of the tracks from that LP, LaLonde’s guitars sound much more comfortable, dodging the riff pitfalls of nu-metal and spiraling around like a track lost from the
Frizzle Fry era. “My Friend Fats” is one of the highlights, perfectly encapsulating the groove of
Frizzle Fry and the intricacy of
Tales From the Punchbowl, with some pitch-perfect percussion from Alexander. Claypool really shines on “My Friend Fats”, thanks to a varied mix of vocal styles and an infectious bass twang.
However, not every song is great. While “The Carpenter and the Dainty Bride” has a rhythmic bassline and clanking guitars straight from
Pork Soda, the song itself is uninteresting, and for six and a half minutes, gets dull quickly. “Pilcher’s Squad” is probably the worst of the five. It lasts less than two minutes, but the dizzying and off-kilter melodies feel flat. The carnival weirdness of the track constantly emits eccentricity, but it’s grating, repetitive, and uneasy on the ears. This leaves only three of the five tracks with consistently enjoyable moments, but as a brief EP, that’s still a respectable quota.
A brief trip to the past and back,
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People is Primus steering the rickety trailer back on course after pulling over and leaving it behind for a while. It sounds like a Primus album, and after the awkward misdirection of
The Brown Album and
Antipop, that’s a blessing. It’s weird and eccentric, taking the influences that Primus cultivated for themselves and giving them attention again. While some songs are repetitive or just badly written, the intriguing moments like “My Friend Fats” and “Mary the Ice Cube” are memorable, standing out even amongst the “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver”s and “My Name Is Mud”s. It’s bizarre seeing the musicianship right where it needs to be; it shows that the members have an almost supernatural synergy with each other. There’s a reason that this is considered the “true Primus lineup.”
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People is less a bold creative statement and more a reassuring reminder that Primus still had fuel in the tank. Though this trio’s black magic only lasted seven more years before Alexander departed once again (with no new LP to speak of during that time),
Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People is a brief, fleeting example of Primus in a concentrated, collective unity.
