Trust No One - Dave Navarro

Dave Navarro, Dave Navarro
You were once in Janes Addiction
And that was sort of average
Dave Navarro, Dave Navarro
You were once in the Red Hot Chili Peppers
And that was pretty good
Dave Navarro, Dave Navarro
You were once in Nine Inch Nails
And that was stunning but a bit brief
Yhwman, Yhwman
Stop writing unbelievably bad poetry
And get on with the review

...
...sits down for a bit and releases a solo album prior to marrying some busty type of Baywatch and apparently going on tour with Janes Addiction. As soon as I heard Dave was putting out a solo album (Or rather HAD put out, I was being a bit slow) my curiosity instantly peaked and I chucked a couple of the song names into audiogalaxy. Can’t explain quite how I managed to download the entire album without listening to a single track yet but I did, ... more

Dave Navarro, Dave Navarro
You were once in Janes Addiction
And that was sort of average
Dave Navarro, Dave Navarro
You were once in the Red Hot Chili Peppers
And that was pretty good
Dave Navarro, Dave Navarro
You were once in Nine Inch Nails
And that was stunning but a bit brief
Yhwman, Yhwman
Stop writing unbelievably bad poetry
And get on with the review

So then, rather well travelled guitarist Dave Navarro sits down for a bit and releases a solo album prior to marrying some busty type of Baywatch and apparently going on tour with Janes Addiction. As soon as I heard Dave was putting out a solo album (Or rather HAD put out, I was being a bit slow) my curiosity instantly peaked and I chucked a couple of the song names into audiogalaxy. Can’t explain quite how I managed to download the entire album without listening to a single track yet but I did, so I’m reviewing this as my first listen. I’m expecting experimental dark guitar noodlings…

* Rexall *

Fragmented wah wah guitar noises open the song before giving way to a throbbing synth and drums before turning into a rather forgettable NIN meets Gomez swampy noise thing. A big complaint of mine would be the way the vocals are buried in the song, normally it requires the use of several spades to get at the lyrics, although I did make out the line “She has love between her thighs”. Things then pick up as the vocals become more clear as an acoustic guitar pops up for a tuneful little bit and then it’s back to the swampy noise stuff with a brief brake of fragmented guitar noise. Don’t ask me why, but for some reason I don’t like swampy thing at the start but I do like the song from the acoustic bit on. A strange way to begin the album and one that may grow on me.

* Hungry *

Slightly more straight forward this one. Opening with a bass line bouncing all over the shop and several layers of guitars in the key of wibbling country-slide-guitar-gone-strange noises before cranking on the distortion for a stomping rock bit before swapping back to a more complicated version of the countryfied bit before going to a more complicated version of the rocky bit and so on. Ever getting bigger and better, a great track.

* Sunny Day *

The jangly guitar at the start sounds almost Janes Addictionish in a ‘Classic Girl’ sorta way but the sampled harsh lead guitar that follows it quickly does not! The song then rocks up while Dave lays into some lady “I don’t know if I can hear another tale of how amazing you can be” while the quieter sections evoke a fractured summery feel. There’s even a rip snorting guitar solo that fades out to just leave a thumping drum beat. Another top track.

* Mourning Son *

Backwards drums, mournful wailing ‘things’ and ambient sound guitars. This sets the tone for the whole song which is mainly a nice relaxed piece which would be very suitable for late night summer listening outside with a drink of your choice. The song doesn’t stay relaxed entirely for the duration, it rocks up a bit with another guitar solo and comes back down after a bit less settled. A good song but not as great as Hungry or Sunny Day.

* Everything *

Shouting and a subterranean bass line open the song in an angry fashion which carries through to the rest of the song. It mixes up frantic half shouted soaring chorus’s (And the line “I want to taste your saliva) and a more unsettling quieter piece with lots of disjointed melodies chucked together before furnishing you with a burst of very heavy funk metal. Not as immediately as great as other tracks but, well, but it’s still great!

* Not For Nothing *

Starting off with a bootleg-made-with-cheapo-microphone vibe, it’s a bit dull really. Finally after almost one and a half minutes the song proper comes in – only it sounds a bit like Marilyn Manson at his least interesting, all shouting and white noise. Yet just as you’re about to skip it, it goes all quiet and moody. Yet once again, just when you think it’s going to be good it goes back to the white noise thing. Weakest track on the album so far.

* Avoiding The Angel *

You can almost tell straight away that this is going to be better. Several fragile guitar melodies wander around together in a merry fashion. Better it is but the grungy styled song doesn’t seem to fit together as well as some of the other tracks. Must try harder.

* Very Little Daylight *

Broody clean guitars and drums open the song before sampled vocals are injected along with a huge fuzzed up guitar. The song continues in a fractured fashion swapping in and out of various melodic ideas (Included what sounds like a ring modulated didjeridu) with only Dave’s vocals to string the song together in an overly coherent fashion. That’s not a bad thing though, while it’s not outstanding as some of the other tracks it’s still pretty good.

* Venus In Furs *

Bouncy bass makes a return on this moody track. Once the intro’s over it sounds a bit like Avoiding The Angel, ie, a less complete package than a lot of the songs. Not necessarily bad but it’s swimming in a sea with other good songs on this album.

* Slow Motion Sickness *

An acoustic guitar backed by both an electronic and a real drum kit it sounds a bit like happy folk after it’s been through a ReznorGrinder (™). With a slightly more aggressive middle section featuring a searing guitar melody, the song ends as it began. A nice way to finish the album, with a gentle, original and yet simple song.

So – that was pretty good wasn’t it! Even more impressive when you consider that Dave played pretty much everything bar drums. For a guitarist he also has pretty great vocals, although there are a couple of slip ups on Rexall. I’d recommend it to anyone with an interest in rock music with a difference (Don’t panic folks, it’s not Bungle levels of difference).  

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