Stop if you’ve heard this one before…Four guys from a bunch of other bands walk into a studio and walk out with a record. That’s sort of the story of Tomahawk, but it’s not the whole shebang. The guys—guitarist Duane Denison [the Jesus Lizard, Unsemble, etc.], vocalist Mike Patton [Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, etc.], drummer John Stanier [Helmet, Battles, etc.], and bassist Trevor “field mouse” Dunn [Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, etc.]—show up just when we need them.
The first time was in 2001 with the self-titled Tomahawk. Following Mit Gas [2003] and Anonymous [2007], they dropped Oddfellows during 2013. It marked their best debut, reaching #9 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums Chart. Not to mention, critics really got it! The A.V. Club gave it a grade of “A-,” Revolver Magazine rated it “4-out-of-5 stars,” and Pitchfork chimed in, “This lurid, thorny, profoundly weird music--just comes tearing out.” All kinds of touring and festivals followed before the members went back to their gazillion other gigs in 2014.
Then on their 20th Anniversary, they finally returned with their fifth full-length album, Tonic Immobility, and now on their 25th Anniversary, they have returned to the stage. Thawed out from their slumber, they sound like, well, Tomahawk…
