Review Summary: Like a young child on their birthday excited to receive toys, only to get clothes instead.
It’s James ‘Maynard’ Keenan’s 60th birthday next month and with it comes a surprise EP, as a way for fans to celebrate the occasion with him. For those not privy, here’s the deal with the EP: Maynard is about to embark on a tour next month with A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, and Primus, so Maynard must have seen an opportunity to have a little fun and record some tracks with the bands before hitting the road. The Sessanta
E.P.P.P is comprised of three tracks – one from each band – all co-written by Maynard. Since two-thirds of the roster has Maynard fronting it anyway, I can’t say I was overly intrigued (though it’s certainly nice to get more material from Maynard’s projects); however, the Primus one, since I’m a huge Primus fan, piqued my interest when it was announced, as there was a lot of promise given the ingredients going into it. Unfortunately, the product overall is rather flavourless. While Puscifer’s “No Angel” and APC’s “Kindred” are serviceable offerings, they don’t really provide anything noteworthy – it all sounds very paint-by-numbers and lacking in any distinct character or purpose. “Pablo’s Hippos” however, is just an outright poor track – providing even further proof (if there wasn’t enough already) Primus are completely incapable of writing a fun song post
Green Naugahyde. The track just sits in accordance with all of the other anodyne albums and EPs Primus have released this past decade and a bit.
While I appreciate Maynard’s gesture, and really like the idea of this EP, the execution feels half-baked at best. “Pablo’s Hippo” in particular feels incredibly lacklustre and just ends with little building up to the fact; while “Kindred” sets off in the right way, with Maynard’s signature poignant melodies at the forefront, there’s nothing gripping about any of it. “No Angel” is probably the best song on here, for its stacking groove and decent harmonies, but even then, the band is hardly operating on all cylinders. Overall, I wish Maynard a Happy 60th Birthday and thank him for taking the time to make something a little different, but
E.P.P.P, honestly, just isn’t fun to listen to.
