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If you’re a fan of David Lynch films (or his music, did you know he makes music?), STREAKING IN TONGUES’ Slow Dancing with Bigfoot might be for you. An interesting album that pairs with a book of poems by the same name, what you’ll find in the experience is a sense of warmth, familiarity, and an exploration of the unknown. You might recall memories you never really had, or find yourself longing for the adventures the big hairy guy goes on.
Many of these stories are rooted in a peaceful serenity as poet Marty Achatz performs with wonderfully dulcet tones but sharp enunciation the various goings-on of a hairy cryptid and his day-to-day life with his kids and with his wife. It’s honestly kind of a reductive take on the album because once you listen to it and I recommend multiple listenings, it’s not something to be taken quite so literally. I think the thing that just sticks with me is the absurdity it revels in. While not filled with bombast and only accompanied by soft guitar and some synth from father and son band members Ronnie and Elliot Ferguson, there’s an almost punk sensibility to the thing. Not punk in the boots and braces kind of way, but in the “we’re getting away with something ridiculous, but it’s working”. Even a song that goes into the details of a farmer’s growing insanity from the pig orgy in his barn in the bluntly titled “A Pig’s Orgasm Lasts 30 Minutes” is both filled with terror and laughs. It’s the kind of insane balancing act that’s astonishing to see play out across the 15 tracks.
There’s nothing pretentious about the album too, as you get the sense that the group knows exactly what it’s doing and only wants you to sit back and get lost in it. It’s got a dreamy quality to it and feels like the kind of thing you remember listening to before bed as a child. These aren’t really parables and there are no real lessons to be learned, but it’s a joy to hang out in these worlds and even more so with the band. The stripped-down approach they have by it just being the three of them lends a certain level of intimacy and I can easily see plenty of people enthralled peacefully by watching the group perform live. If I had any major complaints it’s that the album runs a bit on the long side. In between stories with Bigfoot we get these little quirky stories that are tonally all over the place despite the consistent presentation that I can’t help but think they might have fit in more with their own separate released album.
As it stands though, there’s plenty to chew on and I can see anyone listening to it having their own favorite track that resonates with them. Slow Dancing with Bigfoot is a triumph and STREAKING IN TONGUES is a group we’ll hopefully keep a better eye out for than we have the eponymous cryptid.
Samuel Pratt