Dale Crover - Glossolalia [CD]

As he began plotting his new solo album, Dale Crover - world-renowned drummer for the Melvins, Nirvana and Redd Kross, and singer-guitarist for Altamont - realized that, unlike with his prior two full-lengths, he was starting from scratch. "I didn't have any songs," he says, "so I just went on this writing spree." The result is Glossolalia, Crover's third LP under his own name and arguably his most focused statement yet as a solo artist: 11 catchy yet eccentric tracks that move from Nuggets-y garage rock to crafty proto-metal riffage and gorgeously hazy psych-pop, touching on everything from a bad teenage trip to the charms of the late, great Jane Birkin, and featuring input by illustrious guests including Ty Segall, Soundgarden's Kim Thayil and none other than Tom Waits. What stands out across the record is the sturdiness of Crover's vision. He's modest about his ambitions - "It's just kind of like extra credit," he says, about having a solo outlet apart from his main band - but as this record shows, his overall aesthetic hits just as hard as his legendary drum thunder.