4 out of 5

“Jam band” has been D&Ts bread and butter sound since the outset, and the somewhat goofy funk of that can misleadingly disguise a lot of the production nuance and layering that exists on their tunes.  With ‘Flatheads,’ they chose a good method for shaking the listener to attention which would come back around on ‘Mostly Ape’: Namely rocking your dick off, and/or any dick-like appendages.  And as your dick (or the like) goes flying across the room, along with it goes any doubts you may have harbored regarding the band’s musical prowess beyond a toe-tapping beat.  (Scientist’s note: Doubts are, indeed, stored in the dick.  Interpret this as you will.)

Opener The Mummy is simply epic, building a rhythm from shivering elements until it explodes with an insane guitar solo, horn and drums powering through.  Followup Dr. Small has a similar aggression, focusing more on a hard groove that pulses and heaves for its runtime, again showcasing all of our players.

The album’s only slight misfires are next: 11 O’Clock acts as something of a drum highlight, letting drummer Anthony Nozero go all dub, but some excess layering works against the song and makes it feel sloppy once its built its rhythm.  And The Chicken has the interesting anchor of a typewriter tap-tap and carriage return, but it never feels like the song successfully rallies around this interesting effect.  In both cases, these are worthwhile experiments, but they’re simply not as consistent as the rest of the disc, and especially stick out when grouped together.

Thankfully the remaining back half is solid.  We somewhat switch to bread and butter mode for Green Shirt, but its a smart, short shuffle to get us back in the mood.  Fortunado is one of the group’s more muted affairs, taking a somewhat jazzy approach to a tune that dreamily floats in and out of recognizable melodies.  The title track isn’t necessarily as grabbing as the openers, but blends the group’s standard bop with some pretty deviously subtle production work, and is a great platform for launching into the stomp of closer The Notorious Rumpler.

The last album before their first “retirement,” Flatheads is also the group’s zenith release for that period, showcasing all of the thing they do well while also nodding toward rocking out and experimenting in small (and occasionally awesome) doses.