Population Override Review

[jaerockets]

Population Override Released 2004 by Buckethead

★★★★★

Track 1 - Unrestrained Growth starts off with a soulful lick before dropping into a funky bass + bluesy solo mode. This meanders on pleasantly for a bit, conjuring up images of an abandoned cityscape, overgrown with foliage and decay. As the song progresses on, we get more and more of an out of control feel with the guitar. This progression will only ramp up further over the course of the song, really giving it a sense of direction. The signature Travis Dickerson synthy jazz keyboards give it a very futuristic sound. The nearly 8 minute length of this track never outstays its welcome, as every moment there's a new idea or sound being introduced, with a general structure and progression that prevents it from getting stale. One of the finer examples of Buckethead's bluesy side. A+ job of setting up the tone for the album.

Track 2 - Too Many Humans immediately changes things up with a starkly melancholy opening, opting for a minimalist approach as far as instrumentation goes. The soloing is tear jerkingly beautiful, and is some of the most serene sound I've ever heard come out of Buckethead's guitar. Musicians like Dickerson have a way of getting this out of him. A couple minutes in, we have a Floydian break into the main portion of the song, which is executed flawlessy. The soloing from this point on continues along the same pattern as before, with a bit more kick. Buckethead travels up and down the fret board, showing his diverse range of skill. I love these gems that sound like Buckethead's take on David Gilmour, because the mechanical talent he posses blows Gilmour out of the water. It's fascinating to hear him solo in this style, as he's more well known for the shreddy sound produced by his signature 4 finger nubbing. As the song goes on we get more of a sense of despair. The trodding drums and keyboards emphasize the melancholy notes accentuated by the guitar, making for an overall mood of serene hopelessness. It's hard to explain how, but Bucket just keeps this from getting boring, despite its 8+ minute length. I  could [well, have] listened to him solo like this for hours on end. He always find different strategies and techniques to make it sound interesting. And let's not downplay Dickerson's role in all of this. His keyboards mesh seamlessly with the rest of the song, creating a mood unlike any other Buckethead project [well, any other Buckethead project that doesn't include Dickerson]. My favorite parts of this are when he just plays straight through some sort of scale, hitting each note with a delicate precision that no other guitarist can. Another outstanding track.

Track 3 - Population Override comes in, yet again, with a completely different sound. We get funky, almost discoesque keyboards, combined with a funk guitar sound. Hi-hats on drums complete this for the perfect sound. After the intro, a few chords build up with back and forth strumming, only to return to a more [almost] free-jazz feel. It is once again important to note the presence of Dickerson here. His keyboards and synths mesh seamlessly with the rest of the track. Between soloey improv sections, we return back to the main riff, which is absolutely beautiful. The kind of thing that you don't mind when it gets stuck in your head. Each repetition is played slightly differently, with their own accent notes and backing instruments. The drums do a good job here, as they do in the first two tracks, of providing the music with a steady pace. Any time the music speeds up or slows down, the drums are played in just the right pattern and tempo to make it sound natural. The back and forth between the main riff and our ascending chord structure play seamlessly off of each other, mixing wonderfully with the panning keyboard-synth combos we've grown so accustomed to by this point. It's incredible what can be done with a few instruments and some top notch audio engineering. About halfway through the song, the structure sort of melts away, with different portions of the song acting as backing tracks to the bluesy soloing that Buckethead executes flawlessly throughout the album. These blues solos, with their occasional structural riffing breaks, provide a consistency that maintains throughout the entire album, allowing each song to do its own thing while still fitting in. One of Buckethead's greatest strengths is the ability to create a handful of songs that are great on their own, but add up to more than a sum of their parts when put together. With two minutes left, we get a synthy guitar riff taking over the track for a bit, again favoring structure after the more free-sounding solo section, which is resorted back to almost instantaneously. The last two minutes of the track slowly trod down further and further, conjuring images of an uneven walk down towards the end of the song, giving it a real sense of completion. By this point the album has a tangible sense of progression and mood.

Track 4 - Humans Vanish is a brief 30 second guitar piece which utilizes utter simplicity to its advantage. An absolutely wonderful segway into

Track 5 - Cruel Reality of Nature. A peaceful solo fits perfectly into creating an image in my mind of a world with no more humans. Simply the trees and foliage, overgrowing an empty city with no one to occupy it. This track shows Buckethead's ability to continue along the same style throughout the album, while still providing a completely unique sound and feel. It's incredible. The absence of drums in this section of the project give it a nice peaceful feeling. You are left to focus solely on the guitar and keys.

Track 6 - A Day Will Come, comes in with a similar funky feel to track 3. This quickly breaks down into a jazz-funk jam fest, with pounding drums and a crunchy guitar riff. The keyboards here play a much more active role, with the guitar playing a sort of in between of rhythm and lead. They play off each other with a funkalicious ferocity. Eventually a synthy guitar lead takes over for the keyboards, playing over the continuous crunchy riff mentioned earlier. As the keyboards come in, we get a culmination of all the pieces presented so far, melting back into a more jazzy feel. However this time, it's got a lot more kick than before, blending in and out of the funk feel. The masterful use of tone and effects is put on full display, as all that have been used previously and some new ones are used to great effect. The ascending progression that enters with 3:30 left is absolutely awesome. Every time it comes on I just feel fully in tune with the music.  As the song goes on, it melds more and more into the bluesy jazz feel, slowly fading away from the funk and getting less aggressive as the background riff fades out.  The soloing displayed for the last minute or so of the song is extra enticing, introducing several weird sounding, rubber bandy blues bends and licks. It's hard to describe this portion, but it's really something.

Track 7 - Earth Heals Herself comes in with an ethereal solo, breaking into the signature blues feel of the rest of the album. However, it now feels somewhat reflective, taking in all of the thoughts and ideas used previously, and playing over them in a contemplative sort of way. It is truly difficult to describe the beauty of music, and I am afraid most of it gets lost in the translation of my abstract language. I hope some of the message gets through. You really can't understand the majesty of this without listening to it, and finding your own perspective. This piece doesn't do anything to really shake up the album, or provide a new direction, but it's a perfect encapsulation of everything that's happened so far. We are given a chance to reflect on what we've heard over the past half hour or so as Buckethead plays a soothing, perfectly executed blues solo over Travis Dickerson's majestic keyboards, which sound almost like wind chimes, and are at times inseparable from the guitar. The drums from Pinchface are also as soulful as they come, providing a wonderful structure for the whole thing. The last minute of the song winds down to a simple combination of keys and guitar. Simply serene.

Track 8 - Clones enters with a wiggly note, breaking back into that funk feel that we bounce in and out of. This time it's got more of a long, drawn out feel. It's a new direction at the perfect time, as track 7 was a sort of end to the second chapter of the album. This song feels like the beginning of the third act, so to speak. With a repeating riff and keys, the star of this show is surprisingly the drums. Pinchface provides some rolling, pounding solos which steal the show. However, as the song goes on, we get a bit more soloage on the guitar front, shifting the focus back to Buckethead. This one really gets all over the place, allowing each musician their own chance to shine. The super super high rendition of the main riff that plays in the background as the song progresses is a nice touch. at the 1:45 remaining mark, we break into a blues-funk fusion that puts the focus solely on guitar. And man, is this focus worth it. Buckethead finally introduces some shredding into the mix, and displays his wide range of talent. As this short but sweet solo wraps up, we get another wind down ending, with the keys and guitar coming to a gradual close. But wait, right before it ends, we get one more kick out of the guitar, before fading off into the sunset.

Track 9 - Super Human starts with a sound unlike any of the other tracks. Uncommonly warm and pleasant, it feels like a walk on the beach, the slow waves rolling in. There isn't much of a feeling of hopelessness or despair. Merely content. The carefree guitar and keys provide a much needed uplifting feel after the gut wrenching solos of songs past. The drums sit calmly in the background, sounding not out of place in a laid back sublime song. As is common with the later songs of this project, it doesn't overwhelm us with new ideas or sounds, sticking with concepts that have mostly been used previously. It gives us a chance to breathe, and think about what we're listening to, what we have listened to, and just take a moment to enjoy the scenery. The duet of guitars featured in previous tracks plays beautifully here, giving us a somewhat back and forth, solo-rhythm atmosphere. The break at the end is a nice touch to finish off the song

Track 10 - ... is an epilogue of sorts. Simplistic, bending guitar, with a healthy amount of reverb, let's the listener draw their own conclusion, before sharply shifting to a sort of western, down in the bayou type riff. This song doesn't have a really set in stone image in my mind. I think it lets you find your own end to the story. Without lyrics, you are left with simply the notes, cover art, and song names to decipher the meaning of this album. And everyone's gonna interpret it a little bit differently.

In summary, this is really a beautiful album. Buckethead, Dickerson, and Pinchface come together to meld together a few simple concepts, and make something simply outstanding in the process. This is the result of several creative minds putting their best effort forward, keeping things engaging and entertaining the entire time. Bravo.

[Hauskaz]

These posts feel like a fever dream. I dig it.

[Mr Momentum & the Sidesteppers]

These posts feel like ocular strain.