When it’s time to party we will…..take some time to ponder the existential paradox of living in a tormented world. Or something like that. The former king of letting loose has taken a darker turn. Andrew W.K. 2.0 is present on God Is Partying. Embracing a full pallet of experimentation, sombreness, and full blown weird.
If you have followed Andrew W.K. closely, you may have noticed a change in tone throughout his career. Opening with I Get Wet, coupled with the Jackass Movie appearing We Want Fun, there was nothing but full blown party mayhem. The Wolf brought the first ballad with Never Let Down but kept the upbeat tour de force.
Then he kind of fell off the radar for a number of years. Reemerging from the embers with You’re Not Alone in 2018, showing the first real hints at the evolution to a more sensitive and introspective specimen. Now we get to the first album release since signing with metal label Nuclear Blast Records. And what a turn we have taken.
Kicking off with Everybody Sins, and the opening lyrics “Your god is a liar, Deceive and desire, Knowledge eaten long ago” we have entered a new reality. The multiverse is the number 1 story telling device in 2021, and this is clearly a variant of Andrew W.K. from Earth 2. Riff heavy Balalon gives the first real hint of the heavy metal influence from Nuclear Blast.
Later on I’m In Heaven fully embraces a pummelling industrial tone. However the rest of the album gets fully immersed in weirdville. It often feels like an experimental 70s prog album, and kind of loses momentum in the process. Comically, with the superbly apt title of I Made It for the first bonus track drastically ramping up the mood and back to Andrew W.K. 1.0. Shame it’s a bonus track, so warrants a DQ.
Ultimately, the high points from the single releases fail to carry through, ultimately falling away for the remainder of the album. I fully appreciate the shift in focus – there is only so long you can release songs about drunken merriment. However, this has the feel of a transition album. Discovering new focus and direction. Andrew W.K. 2.0 is partying no more. With God Is Partying, the evolution has begun.
Score: 6/10
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