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Apr 15, 2013Hard to stack up to the wonder years this far into their career, but Rat Farm comes darn close, and the tracks on their 14th outing are the closest they've come in a long time to the colorful, no-frills brand of twangy alt-rock and informal punk (with hints of Americana, country, folk, and prog) that they instilled on their SST records.
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UncutApr 11, 2013Pretty straight by the Puppets' wobbly standards, but still bewitchingly unhinged. [May 2013, p.74]
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May 1, 2013Rat Farm definitely belongs in the “up” column, and I hope fans give this smart, creative and catchy album its due.
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MojoApr 11, 2013This fourth record in six years is another gem, a touch rockier than 2011's saccharine Lollipop, but no less sublime. [May 2013, p.95]
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Apr 15, 2013More laidback than their most feted, punk-derived early albums, this nevertheless compares favourably with the new 'un by Meat Puppets fans Milk Music.
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Apr 12, 2013The resulting amalgam never seems forced or affected, and with Curt Kirkwood’s mastery of the guitar the band can skip effortlessly across styles.
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Apr 16, 2013Though they certainly had friends in high, grungy places, Rat Farm is another example of how singular the Meat Puppets are, each new record sounding more like themselves than anything else.
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MagnetMay 10, 2013If the fanboys and motorheads are equally turned off by it in places, you get the sense the Puppets themselves--who sound happier and more comfortable here than they have in years--would be perversely pleased. [No. 98, p.58]
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Apr 11, 2013It's dizzying psychedelic country in finest Meat Puppets tradition, full of slightly off-centre harmonies in Grateful Dead manner, and plenty of Kirkwood's swirling, trippy guitar.
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May 16, 2013It's almost unimaginable, but they continue to render sounds that swirl and dissolve into something deceptively and gloriously American.
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Apr 23, 2013It’s actually a great record once you give up all preconceived notions of what to expect.