100/100 — Dogbowl — Cyclops Nuclear Submarine Captain (1991)
From the opening moments of Dogbowl’s Cyclops Nuclear Submarine Captain (released in 1991) it becomes clear that this is not going to be just any rock record. How many average records begin with a swooning clarinet solo lazily drifting over jangley guitar chords? Then, before there has been time to digest this strange pairing, Dogbowl’s lazy, yet deliberate, voice begins to spout absurd metaphors — not unlike some of Beck’s weirder stream of consciousness verses (see “Loser”). Next, the bizarre cornucopia that is CNSC continues to unfold as creative guitar noise — which would not sound out of place on a 1970’s krautrock record — gets layered underneath the still crooning clarinet. And that is just track one!
From the initial blunt trauma that is the appropriately titled opener “You Hit Me Over My Head,” each song seems to explore some new alien territory. There is the psychedelic raga of “Ferris Wheel” and the free-form freak outs of “Toilet” (a là Frank Zappa or The Red Krayola). There is even circus music on “Beautiful Trailer Park.” Or take for example the stoned psychedelic waltz that is “Window Fall Down,” which employs a disintegrating guitar solo — think of the ending to “Undone (The Sweater Song).” This type of sloppy breakdown is not uncommon when ending a song, but Dogbowl uses it, not at the end as we might expect, but rather as a background texture through the whole second half of the song. Playing with our expectations — what “should be” — is one of Dogbowl’s strengths. For instance, nearly every track has a constant stream of clarinet and/or saxophone solos running in the background. Normally a saxophone would be used as a straight solo break, in conjunction with the rhythm section to add texture, or even to create a hook (all three of which Bruce Springsteen’s saxophonist the late Clarence Clemons perfected). Dowbowl breaks the rules; these solos are run-on sentences that add just a hint of insanity to what otherwise might be fairly straight forward arrangements.
While there a decent amount of post-modern early 90’s insanity on CNSC — it is produced by Kramer (not this guy) after all (he worked with Ween among others) — the rooted with strong melodies. This can be attributed — at least in part — to the contribution of Daryl Dragon. Dragon, AKA The Captain (of The Captain and Tenille), who worked with the Beach Boys in the 1970’s helped with some of the arrangements and guitar playing here. Tracks like “Love Bomb” and “Flying Saucer Over Magnolia” are examples of melodies which transcend their own bizarre lyrical content and lodge themselves securely in the mind.
With CNSC, Dogbowl managed to find a great balance between strong melodies, strange arrangements, absurd and esoteric lyrics, and a whole lot of fun. (I haven’t even mentioned one of my favourite goofy moments yet: the spoken-word fever dream ending to “Silkworm Exploding” where the Titanic rises from the depths and becomes an airship which sails over Manhattan and docks with the Chrysler Building.) It’s not for everyone, but with its 90’s production and sensibilities, its genre-bending explorations, and its disregard for rules and expectations, CNSC will always have a dear place in my heart.
Favourite Tracks: “Lovebomb”, “Silkworm Exploding”
Least Favourite Track: “Revolution of the Homeless”
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