The Meat Puppets turn folk music into punk rock on Meat Puppets II

     The Meat Puppets’ sophomore album, Meat Puppets II, was quite a change from their self-titled hardcore punk debut album. Meat Puppets II isn’t so much hardcore, as it is folk. Released in 1984, the album hardly reaches the 30 minutes mark, but still features lead singer, Curt Kirkwood’s unmistakable vocals. Additional members of the band include Kirkwood’s brother, Cris Kirkwood on bass and Derrick Bostrom on drums.

Track 1: Split Myself in Two- The first track is not too much of a departure from their self-titled record. It has the hardcore punk sound that many early Meat Puppets fans have come to love. While the vocals on the track are quite strange, it is not unusual for a punk record. All in all, “Split Myself in Two” is a great way to kick off the record.

Track 2: Magic Toy Missing- One of the shorter tracks on the record at one minute, twenty seconds, “Magic Toy Missing” is certainly not what would be considered a “filler” track. The instrumental tune could be enjoyable even if it were five minutes long. The guitar by Curt Kirkwood is very unique and proves why The Meat Puppets are so popular in the underground scene.

  Track 3: Lost- On many records, this track would be considered short, but at three minutes, twenty-four seconds, the song seems long for this Meat Puppets record. The Meat Puppets do a great job at featuring their talent in a song less than three minutes in length, but disappoint when doing a song over three minutes. “Lost” sounds like any generic folk song and The Meat Puppets do not add their hardcore touch to it.

Track 4: Plateau- “Plateau” was covered by Nirvana for their MTV Unplugged performance back in 1993, which gave The Meat Puppets significant recognition. “Plateau” is a bizarre track that shows just how far The Meat Puppets have grown since their debut record. “There's nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop/ And an illustrated book about birds,” Curt Kirkwood sings in a bizarre the bizarre lyrics in a falsetto-type voice. An odd, but a stand out track.

Track 5: Aurora Borealis- Another instrumental track, “Aurora Borealis” songs like a continuation of “Plateau”. The song should not have been separated from “Plateau”, but should have just been an extended outro of the song. It would have made both songs better.

Track 6: We’re Here- The track is a sweet sing-along song for a campfire. Curt Kirkwood’s vocals are at his best on this tune, as he sings over his soft acoustic guitar riff and Cris Kirkwood’s almost muted bass. Bostrom’s drums throughout the song maintain a consistent, steady rhythm to keep the song as simple as possible.

Track 7: Climbing- This tune, is just like “Lost”- another generic folk song. The Meat Puppets did not take a folk song and put their punk rock twist on it quite like they did for “Plateau”. Although this track is not anything memorable, The Meat Puppets must be given credit for not letting this song run too long.