A multi-talented artist who is a founding member of Half Japanese, Jad Fair dabbles in art and spoken word, too. His brother David, also of Half Japanese, is his longtime partner in crime, and they’ve played together on hundreds of records by now.
This installment of their unorthodox sounds comes in at 27 tracks, so there’s a lot going on here, and it unfolds in quick blasts of the Fair’s unpredictable and always unclassifiable delivery.
“Rock Me Reckless” starts the album with one of the longest tunes, surpassing two minutes, and it’s a lo-fi rager with warbling, iconoclastic sounds. Later on, “There’s No Block Party Like A CooCoo Rock Party” is some sort of art-damaged electro punk experience.
Of the tunes that are less than a minute long, highlights include the quirky praise of Adam West on “Only One Batman (Can Be The Best)” and “Beatle Math,” which adds up The Beatles against a lone jagged guitar. The best short one, though, is the machine gun sounding, dance rock of “I Heart CooCooRockinTime.”
The longer tunes – and when I say longer I usually mean just over a minute – allow the siblings to expand on their oddness, as evidenced by the dungeon rock of “Mix Tape Mix Tape,” while “Put Your Money In The Slot” slithers with an addictive beat against manipulated sounds.
Near the end, “All About That Lady Who Fixed That Painting Stupid” is a blurry mix of crashing percussion and aberrant noises. The curious album ends on “C-L-O-W-N,” a squealing mashing of disjointed melody that’s fitting for a circus in another dimension.
Because this disc is limited to 500 copies and features charming, colorful artwork, I wouldn’t expect copies of this one to be available for too much longer. For fans of outsider pop, this is gold. For everyone else, it’s an example of insatiable imaginations and unique talents that seemingly can’t sit still.
