ICED INK

"Look! It's Rock & Roll!" Heavy rock with a variety of chord progressions and jazzy flourishes, the opening track is an impressive display of stylistic shifts while retaining a satisfyingly cohesive sound. It sounds like early Rush decided to pursure jazzier routes.

"Abra Cadaver" This is initially like a psychotic blend of southern rock and punk. Without blinking an eye, the band moves right into country music territory.

"Don Julio: Jalisco's Toothbrush for Your Brain" A smooth walking bass line sits underneath gritty guitar, all interspersed with jazz and hard rock passages.

"Secret Asian Man" Juxtaposing blasts of gritty guitar with smoother textures, this is yet another piece of sonic Jell-O: Just when you feel you've got a grip on it, it takes another shape and slips right out of your hands and hits the floor. But it's so good, you get on your hands and knees and eat it up anyway.

"Chainsaw & Dave vs. The Flesh Eating Rabbits" Occasionally settling into a countrified surf-rock groove or a twangy blues, this piece offers occasional detonations of frenzied rock.

"White Box with Black Buttons" Deep percussion and dark guitar offer a twisted twist on Tex-Mex rock and roll. The countrier licks have an almost John Mayer feel to them, kissed by a bit of jazz.

"Steve Buscemi Overture" I smiled at this title the first time I read it. I think the music here is a faithful portrayal of the eccentric yet typecast actor: Strangely benign yet darkly perverse. More twangy country / jazz is offered alongside raging passages.

"Beer for a Glass, from a Can" Either is fine with me! Eclectic prog drizzled heavily in country syrup is what's still on tap here. This piece is like a collaboration between Dwight Yoakam and 1990s King Crimson (bet you'd never thought you'd read those two names side by side). The last five minutes begins with an experimental bit of noise. It was as though the band ran out of ideas. Except that they didn't, tossing in an acoustic jazz country jam. Nice way to finish up.

Honestly the band's story and various inside jokes surrounding their song titles are more interesting than the music, although I do sort of admire their ability to blend ska, rock, a little punk and a touch of eighties skateboard music into something that resembles the Dead Milkmen trying to cover Zappa tunes with Explosions in the Sky backing them. There's an audio picture if you can imagine it.

The song titles are hilarious, as are some of the stories behind them which you can read about on the band's website and various blogs thanks to the investigative powers granted you by your browser and Google. For example, "The World According to a Drunken Trendy Asshole" is a raw drum-driven tribute to an audience member from one of their concerts who apparently informed the group that they "blew more than trumpets" (not a compliment for any non-native English speakers who might be wondering). And "Anorexiporn" is a suspiciously similar-sounding tune that includes some bent guitar riffs in memory of an email attachment "you just don't want to see". It seems these guys spent more time amusing themselves and each other while writing these songs than they did concentrating on producing anything of substance.

Still, the tracks are energetic and seemingly heartfelt if not stellar, and you have to admire a group that manages to keep trucking after a decade even though their 'career' story reads something like the Anvil movie. Long live rock and roll indeed!

I like the theme of "Buy Me Toys" which is almost identical to Joe Jackson's 70s punk-pop power hit "I'm the Man"; and "Spin Cycle" that is dedicated to some chick who found love in the vibrations of her washing machine (I think I saw that in a made-for-TV movie way back when).

Nothing much in the line of progressive or even memorable music here, but a fun little album that's mildly amusing if you happen to run across it. Not likely given it was released on the largely unknown Painted Air label, but if you happen to be trolling around a used record store in a Northeastern U.S. college town like I was you just might catch a glimpse. If you do go ahead and fork out the $4 and amuse yourself for a few minutes. Two stars for me, maybe three for avant-garde or indie fans.

peace