Sunday, April 30, 2017

Melvins and Mods: maverick spirits

Four months in, and 2017 has already delivered (at least) two music documentaries that I'm desperate to see.

First up, there's The Colossus Of Destiny: A Melvins Tale, which tells the story of the Seattle legends with the help of key protagonists Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover, as well as a huge cast of admiring fellow musicians. According to the Quietus' Neil Cox, the film captures their abrasiveness and fierce spirit of independence in its suitably unpolished style: "This independent, punk, two fingers up to established ways of doing things attitude is what the Melvins are all about and the film is clearly made by fans of the band who understand the value of artists who truly don't care about what is expected of them."

Even more glowingly reviewed (by John Robb for Louder Than War) is Sleaford Mods documentary Bunch Of Kunst, which came out on Friday. The duo's angry critique of modern Britain was always going to come across, but Robb particularly delights in the film's depiction of their "humanity" and "humility", which "makes them far more than righteous vitriol". Describing it as "this most perfect of films", he concludes: "Every young band and every music college should be forced to show this film just to underline the genuine power of music and creativity." Recommendations don't come much more unequivocal than that.

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