Monday 9/9 at The Southern Café & Music Hall
King Buzzo Osborne, lead vocalist of heavy and heavily influential sludge-rock band The Melvins, teams up with bassist Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle and Tomahawk fame. Over recent decades, the two have also worked together in Fantômas, and at one point Dunn was part of an incarnation of The Melvins. Currently billing themselves under the King Dunn moniker, the duo are eschewing the thick feedback that defines a great deal of Buzzo’s recorded oeuvre in favor of an acoustic guitar and double bass setup. Word on the street is that the performances veer instrumentally, letting Buzzo’s trademark growl-and-bark vocals serve in a smaller part-time role. Dunn plays stand-up bass with a variety of approaches and effects (bowed, synthesized), choices that deepen the sonic palate. The less purist inclination propels tracks that include selections from the I’m Afraid of Everything EP (2022) and Buzzo’s Gift of Sacrifice (2020) record. Envision a musically exploratory evening without the pitfalls of glum navel-gazing.—CM Gorey