The former members of
Kyuss
must have signed an agreement early on that they would launch as many offshoot projects as possible during the late '90s/early 21st century. Of course, this is not a bad thing, especially with the high quality of the projects thus far:
Queens of the Stone Age
,
Mondo Generator
, and the solo musings of drummer
Brant Bjork
.
Bjork
likes to keep his plate full at all times, whether it be running his own record label (
Duna
) or playing with
Fu Manchu
(which he was a full-time member of during the mid- to late '90s),
Che
, or jamming with his old pals
Josh Homme
(
the Desert Sessions
) and
Nick Oliveri
(the aforementioned
).
also found the time to launch his own solo career during the late '90s and 2003 saw the release of his third release overall,
Keep Your Cool
. The eight-track album catches
in a more laid-back and funky mood than usual -- there's none of the trademark
stoner metal
that's been his trademark for years. With
acting as a one-man musical machine (having written and played all the tunes himself, as well as co-producing it),
is a solid half-hour of groovy high's: the largely instrumental album opener (aside from a few nonsensical lyrics),
"Hey Monkey Boy,"
the un-p.c.
"I Miss My Chick,"
and the mellow title track, the latter of which would serve as a perfect "sunset-watching" soundtrack. While his impressive resume of past recordings would suggest a dude that could easily be content to rest on his laurels and continue on the
metal
path,
proves
isn't easily pigeonholed. ~ Greg Prato