10/31 -- 11/04:

Danger Doom, The Mouse & The Mask

It’s kind of hard to believe this album is so good. I happily snapped it up when it came out... Danger Mouse was really at the top of his game at the time, and MF DOOM was (and is) one of the most unstoppable, unpredictable rappers in the biz... but the angle of the two doing an album for Cartoon Network was pretty strange. But it worked out really well. DOOM’s solo work already spends plenty of time sampling cartoons, but here they actually have permission, and the two craft a spectacular, dense, dizzyingly fun hip hop album that just happens to feature interludes by (And a few songs about) characters from the original (Infinitely superior) Adult Swim line-up like Space Ghost, Sealab, Harvey Birdman and, of course, Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Toss in perfectly chosen guest spots from Talib Kweli and Ghostface (Oh, if only the long-promised DOOM/Ghostface collaboration album had happened), and you really can’t lose.



Danger Doom with Ghostface, “The  Mask”

Electric Six, Heartbeats & Brainwaves


The release of a new Electric Six album is cause for celebration. It is, in fact, the soundtrack to its own celebration. Heartbeats & Brainwaves is a more synth-driven album, taking the dance rock we’ve come to depend on and turning down the “rock” part a little. The result is more akin to 2nd album Senior Smoke than most of their catalog: glorious, bombastic, even catchier than usual. And lyrically, Dick Valentine really brought it this time, delivering some of the Six’s more absurd, delightful songs to date in songs like “Gridlock!,” “It Gets Hot,” and “Food Dog.” Electric Six songs that get really excited about mundane events tend to be homeruns, and “Free Samples” is no exception. It’s about getting free samples. Even moody opener “Psychic Visions” offers plenty of fun. The whole album is a great time from start to finish. The first three Electric Six albums are far and away the best, and a big part of that for me is they all sound different. The first is really rock oriented, the second more dance-based, and the third stretched out and tried some new genres. After that, until last year’s Zodiac, they’d mostly settled into a reliable, Fire-esque, dance rock sound. But Zodiac began and Heartbeats & Brainwaves continues a new era of experimentation, and I am all for it. Electric Six are on top of their game right now.



Electric Six, “Gridlock!”




Puscifer, Conditions of My Parole



Puscifer is the name Maynard James Keenan uses for his “solo” material. The name originated in a Mr. Show sketch Keenan and Tool bandmate Adam Jones cameoed in. I find it interesting, though, that Puscifer, the music project, does seem to just be a name. As a band, it/he doesn’t have a defined style or approach. Generally speaking, most bands have a pretty well-defined sound or niche (Tool) and if you want to do something even a little bit different, you go somewhere else (A Perfect Circle). Puscifer, though, just seems to the name Keenan applies to whatever he’s been doing lately, and he likes it that way.

The first thing I heard under that name was a playfully spooky song on the soundtrack to that paragon of cinematic excellence, Underworld, in 2003. I really, really liked that song. When a Puscifer full-length made its way to the public in 2007, I was excited. It was totally different. From that song in 2003, from any band Keenan was in, anything. It was hard not to hear it as Keenan baiting the rabid fans of his day job. The man has a pretty good range as a singer, and refused to sing in any of it, affecting this gravelly voice the whole record. And that voice bopped its way across weird funky jams, dark electronic music, and even what seemed to be an unironic reading of a Christian sermon. The obsessive Tool fans who pore over and ascribe meaning to every syllable of every song would be hard-pressed to delve too deeply into ludicrous faux-R&B lyrics like, “This lovely lady got the thickness/Can I get a witness?/Miss Betty Booty got the thickness/Can I get a hell yeah?” from “Queen B” or my personal favorite, the chorus to “Drunk With Power,” “Where all my honey gone?/Pooh Bear be cryin’.” Even the name of the album, “V” is for Vagina, seemed to be daring his fans to take him seriously.

After remix albums (“V” is for Viagra and “D” is for Dubby), a short EP of new songs and remixes (“C” is for (Insert Sophomoric Genetalia Reference Here)) and the soundtrack to the documentary on his winery (Blood Into Wine) featuring still more remixes and some rarities, Keenan is back with the second true Puscifer album, Conditions of My Parole, and has once again gone off in another direction. It’s less gleefully silly than “V”, and yet, still has its silly moments, and they stick out more here due to their rarity. And it even seems like it could be a concept album, as themes and locations are repeated in several songs, whether ridiculous or dead-serious. Some songs have the darker, more serious tone of Keenan’s work with other groups (“Telling Ghosts”), some have a much more gentle feel (“Monsoons”), others still are just plain goofy (The title track). The weird R&B stylings of the first album are gone, replaced by a greater focus on electronics, and Keenan is back to his familiar singing voice. Not much on here suggests a kinship with the first album. But I guess that’s just part of the deal with Puscifer. As an album, I think it’s less cohesive than “V,” but also a more satisfying listen, all told. The songs are each engaging in their own way even if they don’t present a very unified sound.



Puscifer, “Green Valley”


Every Time I Die, Gutter Phenomenon



ETID’s 3rd album is where things really started to gel. Keith dropped the last of the “screamo” style from his vocals, the Southern Rock influences creeping around the edges of Hot Damn! take a much more prominent place, and the songwriting feels more focused than ever. Even though the material doesn’t have the crazed mathcore-style complexity of Last Night In Town, it still feels like the band’s most precise album. Almost every lyric on the album is a memorable one-liner. they even came up with something akin to  radio ready song in “The New Black.” All this and a perfect cameo by Daryl Palumbo make this one of the band’s finest hours.



Every Time I Die, “The New Black”


Das Racist, Relax

After a flood of free music in the last couple of years, DR is finally asking you to buy something. And I think it’s well worth doing so. They’ve changed things up on Relax. It’s easy to say they did it to make the album more palatable to a wider audience, but given the rapid evolution they’ve gone through from “Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell”s viral success to now, it could easily just be what they’re into these days. Regardless, there’s more singing, some songs you could call “club friendly,” but also really insane songs that seem as far from commercial as possible, and one of those, “Michael Jackson,” is the lead single. “Shut Up, Man” is a particular highlight, with a searing verse from producer El-P and a title seemingly designed to be the last word on the previous phase of their career. “Rainbow in the Dark” from the first mixtape is the only old song to make an appearance, although theoretical club banger “Booty In The Air” uses the same beat and a brief passage of lyrics from ancient artifact “Different Schools.” Overall, I think it’s a fine introduction to the group for the commerical music biz. Next up: free solo mixtapes from every member to released on the same day in January.

Das Racist, “Relax”


Stevie Wonder, Song Review

You’re not going to catch me listening to too many hits packages. As this ridiculous feature demonstrates, I am pretty dedicated to the concept of the album. But come on. The first disc alone of Song Review is some of the best songs ever made by anybody, all in one place. We throw the word “genius” around all the time these days. Hyperbole is just how people talk. But man-oh-man, Stevie Wonder. His honesty, his openness. Even at its most complex, his music always seems unpretentious and real. Whether partying with the best of them, dealing with complex social issues, or making you cry, the man can and will make you feel it right along with him, every time. Listening to many of his very best songs one after the other is a rollercoaster ride well worth taking.



Stevie Wonder, “I Was Made To Love Her”

Yup.
--D

10/24 – 10/28:

Opeth, Heritage 


Still trying to figure it out! 


 Opeth, “Famine” 


 Electric Six, Heartbeats & Brainwaves 


 The release of a new Electric Six album is cause for celebration. It is, in fact, the soundtrack to its own celebration. Heartbeats & Brainwaves is a more synth-driven album, taking the dance rock we’ve come to depend on and turning down the “rock” part a little. The result is more akin to 2nd album Senior Smoke than most of their catalog: glorious, bombastic, even catchier than usual. And lyrically, Dick Valentine really brought it this time, delivering some of the Six’s more absurd, delightful songs to date in songs like “Gridlock!,” “It Gets Hot,” and “Food Dog.” Electric Six songs that get really excited about mundane events tend to be homeruns, and “Free Samples” is no exception. It’s about getting free samples. Even moody opener “Psychic Visions” offers plenty of fun. The whole album is a great time from start to finish. The first three Electric Six albums are far and away the best, and a big part of that for me is they all sound different. The first is really rock oriented, the second more dance-based, and the third stretched out and tried some new genres. After that, until last year’s Zodiac, they’d mostly settled into a reliable, Fire-esque, dance rock sound. But Zodiac began and Heartbeats & Brainwaves continues a new era of experimentation, and I am all for it. Electric Six are on top of their game right now.


Electric Six, “It Gets Hot” 


 Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Living With The Living 


 Upon its release, I thought this album was the apex of Ted Leo’s career. Always known for his sharp, catchy songs with great lyrics, this one trumped everything that preceded it. Of course, he would follow it with The Brutalist Bricks, which was even better, but I didn’t know that at the time. From fiery anti-war rhetoric on “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb” to a more gentle groove on “La Costa Brava” and everything in between (Ok, technically, nothing is between them, as one follows the other on the album, but you know what I mean!), every song is a winner. 


 Ted Leo, “Who Do You Love?” 


 Screaming Females, Baby Teeth 


 The raw, glorious debut of a band that’s only gotten better and better since. Screaming Females recorded and released this one completely on their own, without even a small label behind them. The band’s tight interplay and unique songwriting are already present, but they’re still experimenting with stylistic elements. Screaming Females would go on do to less screaming and rock a little harder in the future, but this is as fine an opening statement as you could ask for. 


 Screaming Females, “Foul Mouth” 


 Yup.
--D

10/17 – 10/21:

Dessa, Castor, The Twin 

Castor and Pollox are, of course, the twins who became the constellation Gemini in Greek mythology, and the name of this album was chosen very deliberately. It is a collection of existing Dessa songs taken from her fine album A Badly Broken Code, her False Hopes EP, and various other Doomtree-related productions on which she featured (And one new song). But these versions are rearranged for live instruments, and played with a band and other singers. Dessa has performed a couple of shows like this, and they went so well they decided to make an album. Some of the arrangements are departures, while others mirror the originals pretty closely. Even though it’s nearly all songs you’ve heard before, the live aspect makes it feel very cohesive and even fresh somehow. It’s an interesting, successful experiment. 

Rather than finding a song off this album, I’m linking you to a whole concert performed with live instruments from back in March. This was one of the first performances to inspire this album, and several performers featured here also worked on the record. It’s very good.

Zola Jesus, Conatus 

Nika Danilova, the young lady who performs as Zola Jesus, grew up wanting to be an opera singer. Somewhere along the way, due to being too much of a perfectionist to be happy with her singing, she detoured into spooky pop music territory, and began recording music in her apartment. She may have abandoned (or just postponed) her interest in opera, but the high stakes and outsized emotions of her beloved musical style are still all over her work as Zola Jesus. Her first album and a slew of EPs to follow were in a decidedly goth-influenced mode. Dark, but dark in a big, expansive way, especially on her Stridulum EP last year. With Conatus, her second true full-length, she peels back the darkness a little, and even adds some danceable beats, but the outlook is still prrrrrretty serious. She still trades in fragile, intense, usually sad songs, but somehow they’re usually not as bleak this time around. The new layers and textures are welcome additions, and make it hard to guess where she might go next. 

Zola Jesus, “Vessel”

Wild Flag, Wild Flag 

The 21st century has been an interesting era for “supergroups.” They happen so often now, and some of them feature such obscure people, that the term is getting a bit worn out. But the collaborations and often surprising combinations of personnel never stop being interesting. There’s Future of the Left, The Company Band, Them Crooked Vultures, Spylacopa, The Dead Weather, The Damned Things, King Hobo, Slaughterhouse, Money Making Jam Boys, Gayngs, Hail Mary Mallon, Thao & Mirah, Blak Rok and United Nations, to name just a few of the team-ups and supergroups I’ve sampled in the past few years alone. Even Jay-Z & Kanye did a whole album together. This seems like an era of collaboration. 

And now comes Wild Flag. To make Wild Flag, mix two parts Sleater-Kinney (Carrie Brownstein & Janet Weiss), one part Helium (Mary Timony) and one part the Minders (Rebecca Cole), and serve an electrifying album of no frills, no nonsense rock’n’roll music. In an era where rock music has retreated to the fringe, where most bands are playing hipster music or metal or some other more obscure sub-sub-sub-genre in an ultimately fruitless effort to reinvent the wheel, this kind of more traditional approach actually feels rare, fresh and exciting. Wild Flag comes roaring out of the gate with the spectacular “Romance.” “Romance” may be too good, in fact. It’s so powerful, catchy and anthemic that the songs that follow never quite manage to recapture its energy. But don’t that that the wrong way. There’s not a dull moment on the record, it’s a great time from start to finish. They just maybe shouldn’t have opened with their knockout punch. 

Wild Flag, “Romance”

Mike Doughty, Yes And Also Yes

Half the fun of a new Mike Doughty album is just seeing what it will sound like. Sometimes, he applies a big, clean production with many instruments to his compositions, other times he strips it down to the bare essentials. While his basic approach to songwriting may not change drastically from album to album, you never know what those songs will actually sound like. Previous album Sad Man Happy Man was a very basic affair, but Yes And Also Yes finds him swinging in the other direction again. Not super-slick, AC Top 40 production like his sort-of-solo-debut Haughty Melodic, but a fuller sound with some interesting percussion and clear, crisp production. This album seems a little more melancholy than usual, but no less enjoyable as a result. Not outright sad, but a somber mood certainly seems to power songs likes the gentle “Russell,” the lovely duet with Rosanne Cash, “Holiday (What Do You Want?),” and even upbeat numbers like “Na Na Nothing” and “Strike The Motion.” The overall effect is a very cohesive set of songs and a fine listen. 

Mike Doughty, “Na Na Nothing”

Andrew WK, Mother of Mankind 

Last year's truly bizarre collection of outtakes spanning Andrew WK's three albums is, unsurprisingly, a mixed bag. Some really insane, essential songs, some really not-so-good songs, and some obviously unfinished ideas. But when it's good... it's weird. 

Andrew WK, “I will Find God”

Yup. --D

10/10 -- 10/14:

The changeds made to Blogger made last week's post come out all jumbled. I caught it this week.

Tori Amos, Night of Hunters 

Tori Amos and I came together in about the oddest way possible. I saw a couple seconds of the video for her single “God” on a commercial on MTV, and it seemed cool. I assume it said her name, it must have. Then I saw her in one of those ads for Columbia House or BMG, and filed that away. “Tori Amos.” I’m gonna check her out some day. I had a memory like a steel trap as a young man, and it served me well, in this instance. Then a visit to an old friend in Florida revealed she had Tori’s first album, Little Earthquakes, and dubbed it to a cassette for me (ask you parents what a “cassette” is). This act of terrible, terrible music piracy was the beginning of me spending an obscene amount of money on Tori Amos albums, rare import singles, books, video cassettes (ask them!) and DVDs. Tori made her bones on shockingly honest, confessional songs of the type that an angsty teenager could really latch on to. But you can’t just keep reading people the same pages of your diary, and over the years, her work became more abstract. Abstraction gave way to full-blown concept albums... some more successful than others. So, now, Night of Hunters. It’s got maybe the most baffling, intricate concept yet. It’s got her daughter (Already 11, somehow, my goodness) singing on about half songs as different characters and her niece singing on one. It’s an entirely acoustic “21st century song cycle” comprised of compositions inspired by classical works by the likes of Bach, Chopin, Mendelssohn, and Schubert. It’s got all kinds of baggage. But it works surprisingly well. There’s maybe a bit too much of the kids. Not because they’re bad, but just because this is a Tori Amos album, not Tori and the Family Amos. But between the acoustic rule, featuring Tori on piano and a small assortment of string players, and the challenge of working from classics, this album actually pushes Tori to really focus on her vocals and piano playing in a way she hasn’t in a long, long time. Much like Midwinter Graces, her strange and satisfying "Holiday" album from 2009, it keeps her out of what has become her comfort zone, and it really seems to bring out the best in her. And clocking in at 14 tracks, it feels positively short compared to her other 21st century work. She came to the decision somewhere along the line that all those b-sides and rarities her fans hunt for should just be on the album, and as a result, her records could become endurance challenges. Night of Hunters doesn’t wear out its welcome. Which isn’t to say it’s perfect. It may have fewer songs, but two of them approach ten minutes, and as mentioned above, the kids can feel a little intrusive. The sing-songy title phrase of “Cactus Practice” being repeated so often would get old anyway, but having Natasha alternate in and out of it makes it a little twee, frankly. Natasha has a surprisingly rich voice, especially for being so young, but I don’t think it meshes too well with her mother’s for a duet. Natasha’s voice is more in the Adele mode, smokey, a little rough around the edges, while Tori’s is as ethereal as ever. It’s not the electric thrill of putting on from the choirgirl hotel for the first time, or going to Best Buy with Dawn to pick up copies of Strange Little Girls, but digging into Night of Hunters is still a fun experience. After all these years, Tori is still producing music that I find engaging, and I am glad. 

Tori Amos, “Shattering Sea” 

Opeth, Heritage 

A newer addition to my personal catalog than Tori Amos, Opeth quickly shot to prominence. I was turned onto them right before their “breakthrough” album, Blackwater Park. It may have brought them more fame than ever, but it was already their 5th album. I had homework to do. Opeth immediately caught my ear due to the immense variety in their work. Their music often switches from grinding death metal to baroque acoustic passages and back again in the course of a single song. Their songs owe more to classical music and prog rock than pop or rock tradition, usually eschewing verse/chorus/verse structure for more adventurous songs that unfold their movements like a symphony. They’re a band that can give me the adrenaline rush of metal and the moving beauty of Nick Drake in a single song. There’s nothing like them out there. The only constant throughout the years is singer/guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt. He’s the only remaining original member, and at this point, every other position has seen at least two people fill it. He has always been the principle songwriter, so the band has somehow managed to sound consistent throughout all the lineup changes. The lineup going into Heritage was perhaps the strongest Opeth ever, with Martin Mendez on bass (2nd-longest-serving member, having joined the band in 1997), Per Wieberg on keys (since 2004), the amazing Martin Axenrot on drums (2006) and Fredrick Akesson taking up guitar duties just in time to share leads and solos with Akerfeldt recording Watershed in 2007. Mikael has often joked that, going in to record the first Opeth album in 1995, he thought he was going to be a minstrel, playing a lute and singing ridiculously pretentious songs. Heritage, shockingly enough, seems to be as close as he’s gotten to getting his wish. Opeth has quietly stopped being a metal band. It still sounds like Opeth. The unique sound they’ve cultivated over the years is still identifiable. But in the prog rock influences, in some of the acoustic passages, and in the guitar solos. There’s no metal anything to be heard. I’ve listened to this over and over and I’m still not sure what I think of it, exactly. I’ve come to the decision the production bugs me more than the lack of metal, especially when it comes to drums. The bass drum sounds muffled and is actually hard to hear sometimes, and the rest of the drums sound pretty flat. But, beyond the production, there’s a sort of... over the top feeling to a lot of it. Almost like they’re trying too hard. I’m not sure what I’m even trying to say. It’s just so proggy and so noodly sometimes. Sometimes it’s not. They were wise to make “The Devil’s Orchard” the lead single, as it’s the most “Opeth sounding” song on the album. For the most part, I think I have favorite moments instead of songs. It’s a hard thing to adjust to. Mikael Akerfeldt has been doing this for 20 years. No one can be metal forver. You either evolve into something else or become an embarrassing cartoon of yourself like Ozzy. In the DVD accompanying this release, Mikael said he thought that going in this direction would mean he “still had something to offer.” He also said he wasn’t ruling out metal elements in the future, and that he hoped not to repeat Heritage on the next album. Who knows, their next one may win me right back over. Their 11th album is the first one that didn’t completely enthrall me. That’s still a pretty spectacular track record. And I’m going to keep listening... trying to figure it out... 

Opeth, “The Devil’s Orchard” 

Now, Now, Neighbors EP 

The band formerly known as Now, Now Every Children made a splash a few years ago and then disappeared. Turns out, theirs is age old story of label problems and contract disputes. But late last year, they began making a comeback from those unfortunate events with the Neighbors EP, and it basically picks up right where they left off. “Giants,” Roommates” and the title song are a bit more immediate than past songs, faster and more direct, but the dreamy atmosphere and cryptic lyrics are still in fine form. The slower, meandering “Jesus Camp” and the fragile opening instrumental “Rebuild” round out the album. Acoustic versions of “Giants” and “Neighbors” are also included. The EP is a fine reassurance that the band is still kicking, and I hope it’s followed by a longer work in the near future. 

Now, Now, “Neighbors” 

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Nocturama 

When Nocturama came out in 2003, a friend of mine went crazy for it. A long-time Nick Cave fan like me, he told me Nick Cave was back! Coming as it did after 2001’s weirdly uncharacteristic, mopey No More Shall We Part and the also uncharacteristically calm The Boatman’s Call from 1997, this was big news, indeed. Turns out, though, my friend Scott got so (Justifiably) excited about the rock’n’roll frenzy of “Dead Man In My Bed” and the sprawling, 15-minute freakout “Babe, I’m On Fire” (An attempt, they band said to offend as many people as possible) that they made him temporarily forget the rest of the album he’d just listened to was another serving of mopey, decidedly down tempo ballads. Not to say that any of those albums are bad, per se. They just mark a weirdly quiet period in Cave’s otherwise bombastic, deranged career. But Nocturama was still a more engaging collection than its predecessor, and presaged something of a Renaissance on material to come. And, yeah, regardless of anything else, “Dead Man In My Bed” and “Babe, I’m On Fire” are a whole lot of fun. 

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, “Dead Man In My Bed” Yup. --D

10/03 – 10/07

Opeth, Ghost Reveries Opeth’s 8th album seems the most accessible, but try as I might, I’ve never been able to articulate why. The songs are still epic, regularly surpassing ten minutes. The music is still their unique mix of death metal and acoustic passages. But even though the songs are long and intricate, they somehow feel more immediate to me, more visceral. I put on Opeth albums to appreciate all the time, but this is about the only one I put on to rock out. I don’t know. It’s good! Opeth, “Ghost of Perdition” 9th Wonder, The Wonder Years The long delayed “official solo debut” of ubiquitous producer 9th Wonder, The Wonder Years has about 6 million guest vocalists on it. 9th produces the whole package, bringing his signature soul sound to give the album unity, and appear as his rapper alias “9thmatic” on the opening track, but the vocals are almost entirely by well known associates like Raekwon, Phonte, and MURS as well as various artists from 9th’s It’s A Wonderful World Music Group like Skyzoo, Rapsody, Actual Proof and Thee Tom Hardy. It’s a breezy, feel-good affair. The remix of Erykah Badu’s “20 Feet Tall,” now featuring Rapsody, cleverly lays a faster beat under Badu’s original vocal, changing the timing of her delivering without actually changing anything. It’s a good time. 9th Wonder with Khrysis, “Make It Big” Turquoise Jeep, Keep The Jeep Ridin’ I’m surprised this hasn’t made it to one of these yet. Turquoise Jeep has managed to remain surprisingly mysterious for this day and age. Their videos have become viral hits, they’ve begun to tour, the joke has turned kind of serious, and they won’t even say where they’re from (But I’m guessing Atlanta). They wear ridiculous costumes, fake bears, wigs, masks. Rapper Flynt Flossy and producer Tummiscratch Beats could be some one you know, even, so complete is their disguise. But whatever’s going on behind the scenes, they’re pretty funny, and they know how to make a particular kind of perfectly absurd video. Keep The Jeep Ridin’ is a collection of songs by all the participants, and you can almost hear how the group evolved. From the gleefully amateur recording and awkward rhyming by Flossy and singer Whatchamacallit on “Strechty Pants” to the additions of rapper Young Humma on “Fried or Fertilized” and singer Pretty Raheem on “Wifey Boo”, to the very important addition of Tummiscratch Beats making their songs sound much more real, to the seemingly recent addition of singer Slick Mahoney, the newest songs sound more and polished and believable. Mahoney’s “Go Grab My Belt” is hilarious, but I wouldn’t think twice if I heard it on the radio. It’s a perfect parody of the kind of songs people release dead serious these days. Pretty Raheem never even seems like he’s trying to be funny in his lyrics, and yet he’s the most outlandish one in their videos with his brightly colored hair. Turquoise Jeep is a complicated joke, but it’s a really good one. Yung Humma with Flynt Flossy, “Lemme Smang It” Flight of the Conchords, I Told You I Was Freaky I’ve been enjoying The Conchords’ unique perspective since all I could watch was a bunch of concert videos on youtube. Since their mainstream explosion via TV, their songwriting hasn’t suffered a bit. If anything, I think the versions of their old material that made it into season one of their show weren’t as good, but the new material for seasons two is a worthy follow-up to their classic songs. With quite a few more hip hop-influenced songs than I expected, as well as other, somewhat less surprising experiments, they build on what’s come before and explore new territory without straying too far from the oddly sweet formula that got them where they are today. Flight of the Conchords, “Carol Brown” Evil Cowards, Love Pigs Evil Cowards is a side project of Mr. Dick Valentine, singer/mastermind for Electric Six. Released in early 2008, it was better, funnier, and more engaging than the last couple Electric Six albums, and preceded their fine return to form on KILL by only about six months. Evil Cowards isn’t all that different from E6. More of a focus on electronic music and production, but the guitars are still there, and most importantly, the hilarious lyrics and deadpan delivery are still there. But several of these songs allow Valentine to get really weird in ways he doesn’t in his day job, and the results are fantastic. “Classon Ave. Robots” is one of my favorite songs from any project Valentine has ever been a part of, alongside “I’m Not Scared of Flying Saucers,” “You Really Like Me,” and “Love Pigs.” There’s allegedly a new Evil Cowards album coming soon, and I can’t wait. Evil Cowards, “I’m Not Scared of Flying Saucers” and "Sex Wars, Many clips from this live show, in which they mostly lip sync the album while doing ridiculous dance routines, are on youtube. You should watch them.