Review Summary: Tasty brown nuggs
A Handful of Nuggs is a surprise drop from one of the strangest, most unmistakable bands to ever crawl out of the swamp: the legendary Primus. If you’re somehow new to them, Primus are the long-running trio built around Les Claypool’s instantly recognisable slap-bass wizardry and a career-long commitment to being gloriously and proudly ***ing weird. This new EP is technically four tracks… but let’s be real, there's only really one brand-new song,
“The Ol’ Grizz”. This song is pure backwoods quirkiness. Some crazy ass slap bass here. New drummer John Hoffman locks in like he’s been in Primus for years, and the whole vibe is music for methed up hillbillies to chase city folk out of their swamp to.
Then we get a cover of the Dio classic
“Holy Diver”, featuring sad-clown crooner Puddles Pity Party. The bass absolutely dominates it—maybe too much for my preference—but hey, perhaps a silly complaint for a Primus tune. Puddles does a cool vintage-crooner spin, but you can’t help feeling like Les would've been a better choice on vocals, given Dio is such as iconic voice and Les is so distinct as well.
“Little Lord Fentanyl” with Puscifer was dropped last year. I enjoy the weirdo synths used here giving it more of an eerie vibe, though its not quite as rocking as
'The Ol Grizz'. It still features lots of technical, jazzy, funky playing, but doesn't hit that next level. I do appreciate the dark but kooky lyrics and songwriting which Primus has dabbled in before.
And finally, a live version of
“Duchess” takes us back to the band’s
Brown Album era. The racing bassline still absolutely cooks, the psychedelic guitar solo rips, and the recording quality for this live cut is crystal clear—a great little archival treat for fans.
Overall,
A Handful Of Nuggs is a solid little EP — a tasty appetiser for Primus fans ahead of their summer touring. One killer new track, a quirky cover, an ok collab, and a tight live cut. Not essential for casual listeners, but Primus die-hards should lap it up.
