COMBINATION NO. 10 - BLUE PUNCTILIOS

Jesus. Here I go again, making another Twin Peaks comparison. I can’t help it, though. That show was so unique, and permanently burned so many twisted, surreal images into my brain. It’s been over a decade since the show even aired, and I still can’t shake that image of Bob crawling over the couch toward the camera. I guess that’s a true testament to a quality piece of work.
So, this time around, I’m comparing Combination No. 10’s Blue Punctilios to the show. Only it’s Twin Peaks by way of Terry Gilliam\'s (12 Monkeys, Brazil, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas) directorial eye.
Blue Punctilios has all the qualities of David Lynch’s famed TV series. It’s wholly surreal, laced with the strange haunt of the unexpected, peppered with an occasional foray into one of Twin Peaks\' blue, smokey lounges. Guitarist/composer Rob Price navigates bassist Victor Rice (better known for his never-ending instrumental and production work in the modern ska world) and drummer Ara Babajian (current Slackers skinsman) through 14 tracks of some of the most unique and unusual music I’ve ever heard. They bounce from genre to genre, blending and separating as they see fit. There’s mind-bendingly organized noise (\"Gutbrain Sound\", \"Ode To Vivian Sister\"), bouncy, manic garage rock (\"Sucking Mud\"), slow, moody atmosphere-building (\"Journey Into Guilt\") and even a few furious, spastic cover tunes (The Kinks\' \"You Really Got Me\"-- which is fucking amazing-- and Motorhead\'s \"Over The Top\").
Combination No. 10’s Blue Punctilios is a record that sounds as strange and alluring as jazz sounds the first time you ever hear it. It’s as moody as its album title defines (use a dictionary, apply the liner note quote), and creates a world not too different from what I imagine walking inside of a brain to feel like.