When I heard this, I immediately liked it. Here’s an album that is ambitious, weird, and near obnoxiously positive. Yet between that positive attitude is a vulnerability, like he’s about to collapse into a pure nervous wreck. His delivery reminds me strongly of Kevin Blechdom’s almost forced cheerfulness, of having a breakdown live on Public Access.
Right from the intro track, you’re given the template for the entire album. Thick, playful keyboards and almost nonsensical lyrics meet you, ready to take you into his strange alternate universe where 70s classics like Electric Light Orchestra are distorted almost beyond recognition. Progressive rock sinks its teeth into each composition.
The album starts out near schizophrenic, especially the first official track “Cover Yourself” which has about 18 parts for a 5 minute song. Most people will hate this. ADD addled music doesn’t fare well with most normal people. Basically, if you’re into experimental and pop music, he melts the two together into an oddly enjoyable art.
Choruses are aplenty; these appear to breathe even more live into already teeming structures. “Sometimes You’ve Got to be Happy” takes a slower approach, allowing for a flowing movement. Occasionally he busts out absolutely “Whoa, that’s pretty ridiculous” sorts of keyboard stunts, but you can tell he’s trying to restrain himself, with mixed results. Probably the most progressive rock he gets is the goofy “Happy New Year”.
Winding down the songs’ intensity gradually is a nice way to treat the listener. Having an intense beginning is a good thing, but that level of energy would probably exhaust anybody. There’s a lot of humor on this record, which can be a bit of a turn off. Don’t let it be, it is a shockingly excellent affair from the utmost of music snobs (he used to write for Pitchfork).