Simon and Garfunkel.
Seals and Crofts.
Hall and Oates.
Captain and Tennille.
Some artists just go together. Sure, they might make music on their own. But once they find their “other”, their “person” - you never want to hear them with anyone else.
Such is the case the case with Buzz Osbourne and Trevor Dunn. So long Melvins and Fantômas. So long Mr. Bungle and Trio-Convulsant. You were the rebounds. The time killers. The distractions leading up to this one, perfect relationship.
Seeing each other across a crowded studio, they had to know it was fate that brought them together. Most certainly when the first strains of “Housing, Luxury, Energy” come through the headphones it becomes clear that this was a love written in the stars. A love that we are most fortunate to bear witness to.
Having been together previously in the aforementioned Fantômas and Melvins Lite wasn’t enough for Osbourne and Dunn luckily for us and Gift of Sacrifice becomes just that - a gift. Hell, they could even tour and stay 6 feet apart on stage no problem.
What Gift of Sacrifice really is though, is a natural progression from King Buzzo’s last solo album This Machine Kills Artists - a collection of surprisingly effective acoustic songs that sounded every bit as natural stripped and raw as the sonorous aural warfare he’s been waging as part of the legendary Melvins for over 40 years.
Osbourne has never been one to walk a straight path. In reality, there’s few artists that have been able to maintain such a substantiated hold on their music past, present and future and keep the creative freedom to truly do whatever the fuck they want.
Gift of Sacrifice isn’t as groove oriented as This Machine... but to confine a bassist like Trevor Dunn to the pocket would be a crime against humanity. Regardless of who he’s playing with, Dunn has always had an innate ability to read the situation and give a song exactly what it needs. No more, no less. That talent is rare in music where so often in can be a game of one-upmanship and showboaty foofaraw. His subtle bowing on “Delayed Clarity” resounds every bit as strong as his beautifully demented fretwork on “Mock She”, a tune where Buzzo’s long-standing membership in the Kiss Army becomes abundantly clear.
Look, Buzz is gonna do what Buzz is gonna do. I don’t know if he’ll ever give us another album with Dunn, or we’ll get an album with 3 drummers, 5 bassists and a waterphone.
Hell, what the future holds for any artist right now is as clear as cum, but we can count ourselves fortunate to have this album right here, right now to enjoy.
