Review by Saxy S for Dog Fashion Disco - Adultery (2006)

I have repeatedly stood up for both Mike Patton and Devin Townsend on this website, even when these artists are at their creative worst, because they traverse far beyond simple binary genre tags/descriptors. Dog Fashion Disco is another group that could easily fall into that mix. And nowhere is this comparison more appropriate than on the bands 2006 album Adultery. 

Now to be fair, the comparison to Devin Townsend off the top is less so in the sound of this album and more so due to its compositional style. The sound of this album is absolutely Mike Patton worship, or more specifically, Mr. Bungle. The heavier portions are complimented by smooth jazz and ska portions that would seem remarkably out of place on basically any other album by any other artist. But here, Dog Fashion Disco found a way for these ideas to somehow flow into each other without the use of whiplash transitions or hard stops. And unlike Mr. Bungle, DFD manages to pull these off in about half of the time.

As for the Avant-Garde tag, I think it is well justified given these songs with their frantic nature. But by comparison to Mr. Bungle, this feels more accessible and welcoming to those who are just trying to get their feet wet in the absolutely absurd. Songs like "The Darkest Days" and "100 Suicides" are meshed well with some cool interludes that continue to play into those main themes, but have enough unique characteristics to add to the quirkiness. And the "technical difficulties" interlude on "The Hitchhiker" literally had me jumping out of my seat with how good it was pulled off!

But like with all quirky albums such as this, your enjoyment will be dependent on how much nonsense you can tolerate. This album has an excess of filler. And while I might really enjoy the early album combo of "Sweet Insanity" and "Desert Grave", I cannot uncover any compositional circumstances for the smooth jazz interlude of "Private Eye", and then ending the album with "Adultery" and "Mature Audiences Only". The last of those getting special mention for featuring a supposed "chilling" conclusion, that is inaudible because the strings are mixed so damn close to the front!

I still do like Mr. Bungle and the comparisons to that group on this band/album have not rung hollow on me. This is absolutely diet Mr. Bungle, but that might not be a bad thing. After all, Mr. Bungle is heavily criticized for being too strange. DFD are not clear of this criticism themselves, especially from a production point of view. But they do avant-garde music in a way that includes better compositions than Mr. Bungle, memorable song structures, and a chilling concept.