The Claypool Lennon Delirium - Monolith Of Phobos (2LP) - Grey Vinyl

Some pairings feel like a whim on paper but snap into focus the moment the needle drops. Les Claypool and Sean Lennon fall into that camp. Monolith Of Phobos arrived on 3 June 2016 through ATO Records with Prawn Song involved as well, and it plays like two obsessive studio rats finally getting to stretch out together. They met properly when Lennon’s band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger toured with Primus in 2015, then holed up at Claypool’s home studio, Rancho Relaxo in Sonoma County, to make a record as a true duo. No hired guns. They tracked almost everything themselves, right down to the drums and the swirl of vintage keys, which gives the whole album a strange handmade glow.

The opener, The Monolith of Phobos, sets the tone with rubbery bass, chiming guitars, and vocals that lean into psychedelic fable rather than classic rock chest beating. Claypool’s bass playing is as slippery and idiosyncratic as ever, but the real thrill is how his thump locks with Lennon’s melodic instincts. Cricket and the Genie comes in two parts and makes a perfect case for their chemistry. Part I spins like a carnival ride you are not quite sure you should be on, then Part II opens up into a heady chant that sticks in your ear long after the side ends. It is odd, catchy, and surprisingly warm.

Mr. Wright is the track I tend to needle-drop for friends who assume the album is just bass pyrotechnics. It is a twisted character sketch, sung with a wink and a shiver, and the groove never gets showy. Oxycontin Girl hits harder. There is black humour here, but the subject is the opioid crisis, and the arrangement pulls back just enough to let the lyrics land. Boomerang Baby goes the other way, a psych-pop earworm with a chorus that feels like a found postcard from 1968. Captain Lariat and Ohmerica jab at modern American myths with a mix of satire and sci-fi imagery. They are playful songs, but there is a bite in them too, the kind that keeps you flipping the record to find new details.

Bubbles Burst is the heart-stopper. Lennon sings about childhood memories tied to Michael Jackson’s chimp, Bubbles, and the way fame warps even innocent play. The band resists the urge to go bombastic. Instead, they let a wistful melody do the heavy lifting while Claypool’s bass draws quiet circles underneath. It is one of the most disarming songs either of them has put to tape, and it gives the album an unexpected centre. If you think of Les as the prankster and Sean as the dreamer, this song shows how much range they both have when they meet halfway.

Production-wise, the record favours texture over gloss. You can hear the room at Rancho Relaxo, and you can feel fingers on strings. The drums have that slightly loose, human wobble that vanishes on big-budget rock albums. There is a lot going on in the arrangements, but the mix leaves space for air and grit. Spin the Monolith Of Phobos vinyl and it really comes alive, with the low end blooming just enough to rattle the shelves without smearing the guitars. If you chase colour variants and heavyweight pressings, you will be happy here, though even a standard copy does the trick.

It is easy to file this next to the more whimsical corners of Primus or Lennon’s psych projects and call it a detour, but it has legs. The songwriting is sharper than the concept suggests, and the melodies are sneakier than the trippy titles imply. If you are hunting for The Claypool Lennon Delirium vinyl, this is the one that still gets regular spins at home. It also makes a nice gateway if you plan to buy The Claypool Lennon Delirium records online and work through the catalog. The pair confirmed their taste for classic psych with the Lime and Limpid Green covers EP not long after, but Monolith Of Phobos stands on its own stories rather than nostalgia.

For crate diggers in a Melbourne record store, or anyone trawling vinyl records Australia shops after hours, this album is a reliable staff-pick recommendation. It rewards a straight-through listen, then holds up when you jump in for a quick fix of Cricket and the Genie or Bubbles Burst. If you already collect The Claypool Lennon Delirium albums on vinyl, you know the drill. If not, start here and let the needle find its own crooked path.