PRINTSound Advice: Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Courtesy of Sub Pop
April 17, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Comedy albums don’t have the best reputation. Sure, stand-up comic routines are good in album form, but joke rock struggles. “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parodies and Adam Sandler’s “Chanukah Song” are about as popular as musical humor gets. However, a pair of kiwis are trying to change that.
Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie are Flight of the Conchords, a folk-comedy novelty band from New Zealand. Its 2007 EP, The Distant Future, won the Best Comedy Album Grammy earlier this year. The band releases its self-titled full-length debut April 22.
Nearly all of the songs on both The Distant Future and Flight of the Conchords are also featured on the band’s HBO show with amusing, literal depictions of the song lyrics.
The group successfully blurs the line between comedy and legitimate music on this album. Its vocals, acoustic guitars and some electronic effects drive the music and result in a hybrid comparison between Beck and Tenacious D. The group has taken influential American and British music and put its own satirical spin on it. Flight of the Conchords’ musical sound spans hip-hop, acoustic rock and funk. “A Kiss is Not a Contract” is one of a few less-than-romantic R&B tracks. “A kiss is not a contract, but its very nice / It’s very very nice / Just because we’ve been playing tonsil hockey doesn’t mean you get to score the gold that’s in my Jockeys.”
None of the music on the album is particularly groundbreaking, especially with vocals that wouldn’t get them past the first round of American Idol. But the catchy songs are fun to sing along to. The quirky lyrics and the reasonably good music will keep listeners coming back for more.
The album is hilarious, and the choruses resonate in your head. The only thing better than the funny one-liners are funny one-liners set to music, and this duo does it better than most.
Vox Rating: V V V V — A tasty morsel of ear candy
Vox Rating:
