You dont spend a few decades playing with the Melvins and not learn a few things about making music thats heavy, and on Dale Crovers second solo album, 2020s Rat-A-Tat-Tat!, the bands longtime drummer (and occasional bassist) once again shows he has a real knack for coming up with a memorable hard rock song. At the same time, much like his 2017 effort The Fickle Finger of Fate, Crover also makes it clear he knows how to come up with a melody and a hook, and even though this is still full of the sort of eccentric experimentalism you might expect from a side project, the best moments here are engaging and accessible in a way many fans might not expect. Shark Like Overbite could almost pass for jangle pop with its punchy key chorus and bright guitar figure, the primarily acoustic Ill Never Say is an atmospheric exercise in spooky psychedelia reinforced by Toshi Kasais retro keyboards, and the choppy swagger of Untrue Crime plays like a shotgun wedding between blues rock and junkshop glam that unexpectedly works. (The vintage glam influences come back for an encore in the swampy but hard-stomping The Bowie Mix.) Like Fickle Finger of Fate, Rat-A-Tat-Tat! was primarily performed by Crover himself, who holds down drums, guitars, percussion, and lead vocals, but he also brought in some friends to help. Steve McDonalds bass gives the tracks a sway and an oomph that feels good in this context, while Kasai, who engineered and co-produced the set, contributes plenty of color and texture with his keyboard work. You might not expect the drummer would be the guy to introduce a pop sensibility to the Melvins, and that description is probably going too far to make a point, but Rat-A-Tat-Tat! is a reminder that Crover has skills as a tunesmith and a performer that fall outside the traditional boundaries of his work in his main band, and there are plenty of welcome surprises here along with a few expected and well-executed sonic punches to the gut. ~ Mark Deming

Rovi