Wes Borland adopts skeleton face paint when performing alongside Fred Durst in Limp Bizkit, yet away from that macho rap-rock outfit he gravitates toward a lighter, more whimsical sound. Big Dumb Face unites the guitarist with his brother and several companions from the pre-Limp Bizkit era, exposing this gentler, more eccentric persona. Limp Bizkit’s dominance from the late ’90s onward brought immediate notice and an Interscope contract to the side project. Its debut album, Duke Lion Fights the Terror, appeared in 2001. Although the present configuration is recent, most members trace their history to Goatslayer, the group Borland abandoned once Limp Bizkit’s touring schedule intensified. Sonically and thematically the record sits galaxies apart from Limp Bizkit, favoring the absurdist experimentalism of Ween and vintage Mr. Bungle instead of rap-rock aggression; the modest goals keep it from matching those influences’ caliber, yet the absence of hardcore rap-rock remains consistent. Borland handled nearly every instrument himself inside his home studio, receiving only minor assistance from brother Scott and friend Kyle Weeks. The road lineup comprises both Borlands, Weeks, drummer Greg Isabel, and bassist Chris Gibbs, each using extended stage names such as “Tongue of Calicab” and “the Cardboard Urinal.” The album follows the escapades of a fictional Duke Borland calls “this idiot barbarian guy.” Songs capture the guitarist roaming his hallways and generating spontaneous sounds, shifting between Dr. Demento-style variety-show pop and Ween-like alternative country.
