Disco Volante (Mr. Bungle album)

Disco Volante is the second studio album by American experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. It was released on October 10, 1995, through Warner Bros, and is considered to be the most experimental of all their albums,[3] mixing elements from such varied styles as death metal, jazz, Arabic music, musique concrète, easy listening and even tango.

This article is about the Mr. Bungle album. For the ship, see List of James Bond vehicles.

Disco Volante
Studio album by
Mr. Bungle
ReleasedOctober 10, 1995
Recorded1995
Genre
Length68:45
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerMr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle chronology
Mr. Bungle
(1991)		 Disco Volante
(1995)		 California
(1999)
Singles from Disco Volante
  1. "Platypus[2]"
    Released: 1995

Background

The album's title refers to the name of the yacht of the same name featured in the James Bond film Thunderball, literally meaning "Flying Saucer" in Italian. Mr. Bungle had previously done a cover version of the film's theme song.[4] This was featured on the demo Warner Bros. Mr Bungle Demo Rough Mixes.

Disco Volante would be founding member Theo Lengyel's final album with the band, leaving shortly after the tour due to "artistic differences".[5] Band member Danny Heifetz would later comment, "I miss him. He added a huge chemical imbalance that helped us on the road. He hates us and rightfully so. The music changed, plain and simple. Very little call for saxes, trombone or flute. He was an original member. I'm not. Makes me feel a bit like a union-buster."[6]

Regarding the writing process of the album, bassist Trevor Dunn wrote on his website:

Trey was listening to his own collection of weird stuff as well---exotica, electro-acoustic, noise, middle eastern, techno. I remember him going to raves a lot back then. Mike was really into Joe Meek, the Peter Thomas soundtrack to Raumpatrouille, Kagel and the tangos of Troilo. He would show up between tours to work with us and add his beautifully low-fi input (i.e The Bends). With all this weirdness I realized it was time to revamp Platypus. Danny, Trey and I spent hours deconstructing and literally imploding the original arrangement to the point of superimposing the "verse" with the "chorus". I think that's still my proudest lyrical input. And Bär (!) finally stopped referring to Bungle as "you guys" and started writing for the band.

Composition

Disco Volante is considered to be the most experimental of all their albums.[3] Categorized primarily as experimental rock, avant-garde metal, jazz fusion, and, more broadly, experimental, many of the songs heavily include references of different genres, a staple for Mr. Bungle, including sludge metal ("Everyone I Went to High School With Is Dead"), death metal ("Carry Stress in the Jaw", "Merry Go Bye Bye"), Arabic music ("Desert Search for Techno Allah"), musique concrète and tango ("Violenza Domestica"), jazz fusion ("Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz", "Platypus"), noise ("The Bends"), and easy listening (″Backstrokin'″).

Although much of the song's lyrics are limited ("Carry Stress in the Jaw", "Phlegmatics"), are in another language ("Desert Search for Techno Allah", "Violenza Domestica"), or are just gibberish ("Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz"), lyrical content in Disco Volante is, like in their eponymous debut album, both dark and comedic. Lyrical themes include disconnection and isolation ("Everyone I Went to High School With Is Dead"), "actual teeth-pulling anxiety nightmares" and bruxism[7] ("Carry Stress in the Jaw"), domestic violence ("Violenza Domestica"), the "gradual decline of the human body due to social interactions", as bassist Trevor Dunn elaborates[7]("Phlegmatics"), masturbation ("Backstrokin'"), and martyrdom ("Merry Go Bye Bye"). "The Bends" is a ten minute, almost entirely instrumental experimental track split into ten different sections, detailing a negligent diver who experiences the bends, as hinted by each sections title, with the only lyrics being "You've got the bends. The bends."

“Carry Stress in the Jaw” and “Phlegmatics” are parts II and III of the “Sleep” trilogy, with part I being on the band’s eponymous debut album.

Both "Carry Stress in the Jaw" and "Merry Go Bye Bye" feature hidden tracks, "Spy" and the untitled hidden track, most known as "Nothing" respectively. On vinyl pressings, the album is double grooved, with "Spy" being placed on the second groove, which is notoriously difficult to accurately locate. On CD pressings, "Spy" is put immediately after "Carry Stress in the Jaw" on the same track. The untitled hidden track after "Merry Go Bye Bye", featuring improv made by the band, begins at 7:21, after a full minute of silence.

Release

Disco Volante spawned a number of officially unreleased demos (circulated on internet peer-to-peer sharing networks): "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz",[8] "Coldsore"[9] and "Spy".[10] "Coldsore" featured portions later used in "Love on the Event Horizon". "Spy" didn't feature on the release at all.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Stylus Magazinevery favorable[1]

Disco Volante has been well received by critics. In their highly favorable review of the album, AllMusic wrote, "Mr. Bungle is the musical equivalent of a David Lynch movie", calling the music a "totally original and new musical style, and an album that sounds like nothing that currently exists." They referred to the track "Desert Search for Techno Allah" as "a middle eastern techno number that has to be heard to be believed."[11] Stylus Magazine, in their 2005 review, wrote, "A decade later, Disco Volante still sounds daring."[1]

Accolades
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2006Rock SoundUnited Kingdom "Les 150 Albums De La Génération"69
"*" denotes an unordered list.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Everyone I Went to High School With Is Dead"Trevor DunnDunn2:45
2."Chemical Marriage" Trey Spruance3:09
3."Sleep (Part II): Carry Stress in the Jaw"
  • "Carry Stress in the Jaw"
  • "Spy"
Dunn ("Sleep [Part II]: Carry Stress in the Jaw")Dunn8:59
  • 4:43
  • 4:16
4."Desert Search for Techno Allah"SpruanceSpruance, Mike Patton5:24
5."Violenza Domestica"Patton, TirabassiPatton, Spruance5:14
6."After School Special"Clinton McKinnon, Dunn, PattonMcKinnon2:47
7."Sleep (Part III): Phlegmatics"DunnDunn3:16
8."Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz"SpruanceSpruance6:06
9."The Bends”
  • "1. Man Overboard"
  • "2. The Drowning Flute"
  • "3. Aqua Swing "
  • "4. Follow the Bubbles"
  • "5. Duet For Guitar and Oxygen Tank"
  • "6. Nerve Damage"
  • "7. Screaming Bends"
  • "8. Panic In Blue "
  • "9. Love on the Event Horizon"
    •
  • "10. Re-Entry"
 Patton, Spruance, McKinnon10:28
  • 0:41
  • 0:52
  • 1:56
  • 0:14
  • 0:51
  • 0:38
  • 0:40
  • 0:57
  • 1:29
  • 1:46
10."Backstrokin'" Patton2:27
11."Platypus"DunnDunn, Spruance5:07
12."Merry Go Bye Bye" “Merry Go Bye Bye” ends at 6:21. After 1 minute of silence begins an untitled hidden track, commonly known as “Nothing"Spruance ("Merry Go Bye Bye")Spruance ("Merry Go Bye Bye")12:58
Note: The untitled track after "Sleep (Part II): Carry Stress in the Jaw" is often titled "The Secret Song" (the working title of the song) or "Spy" (the title that appears on various concert setlists). It was originally recorded without bassist Trevor Dunn's input or knowledge; although, shortly before its release, Dunn managed to find it and added a vocal track. Though never explicitly stated, it is believed (by Dunn) that the drums were played by McKinnon, and the bass guitar by Patton.[5] The untitled improvised section after "Merry Go Bye Bye" is listed as "Nothing" on the album sleeve, but is not actually its title, as it is listed on the vinyl and cassette releases without the track being present; it is credited to Theo Lengyel and Danny Heifetz as a sly reference to the fact that neither of them wrote any songs on the album.[5]

Personnel

Mr. Bungle

Additional personnel

  • Billy Anderson – engineering, mixing and pre-mastering
  • Mike Johnson – engineering and pre-mastering
  • Kevin Donlon – engineering
  • Chris Roberts – engineering
  • Mike Bogus – engineering
  • David Ogilvy – engineering
  • Adam Munoz – engineering
  • Trevor Ward – engineering
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Athur Hertz – album front cover photography
  • Joseph A. Thompson – album outer tray photography
  • Davis Meltzer – album booklet backpage photography
  • Margaret Murray – sleeve art layout and design
  • Gregg Turkington – sleeve art layout and design
  • William Winant – cymbals on "Chemical Marriage", bongos on "Sleep (Part II): Carry Stress in the Jaw", tabla, kanjira and sistrums on "Desert Search for Techno Allah", jaw harp and percussion on "Violenzia Domestica" and bongos, xylophone and glockenspiel on "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz"
  • Graham Connah – piano on "Violenzia Domestica", "The Bends" and "Platypus"
  • Lisandro Adrover – bandoneón on "Violenzia Domestica"

References
  1. Macdonald, Cameron (November 30, 2005). "Mr. Bungle – Disco Volante – On Second Thought – Stylus Magazine". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  2. "Mr. Bungle – Platypus 7" Promo Single".
  3. Huey, Steve. "California – Mr. Bungle : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2012. California requires at least a few listens to pull together, but its particular brand of schizophrenia isn't nearly as impenetrable as that of Disco Volante...
  4. "Thunderball (1965) – Trivia – IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  5. "Mr. Bungle Frequently Asked Questions". Bungle Fever. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  6. Carlin, Matthew (July 29, 1999). "Interview". westnet.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  7. http://www.faithnomorefollowers.com/2016/10/trevor-dunn-disco-volante-interview.html
  8. "Mr. Bungle – 4. Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz Demo – YouTube". YouTube. July 28, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  9. "Mr. Bungle – Coldsore (Disco Volante Demos) – YouTube". YouTube. October 11, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  10. "Mr. Bungle – Spy (Secret Song) – YouTube". YouTube. June 28, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  11. Prato, Greg. "Disco Volante – Mr. Bungle : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
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