The album opens with "Kaleidoscope," which is also the song the band chose to open that show I saw. It's a cool song that combines elements of punk, pop and funk, delivered with a great sense of the absurd and the strange. For certainly this whole world is a circus of sorts, which we witness, as well as take part in. "Lose your mind, let it flow/Kaleidoscope/Enjoy the show/Clear your head, feed your soul/Kaleidoscope." And the instruction is repeated: "Take it slow/Enjoy the show." And maybe that's the conclusion we have to come to these days, to enjoy the show, no matter how twisted it gets, as George Carlin urged us. There are some 1960s influences too, heard in some of the backing vocal work and in the song's psychedelic elements. Then "Have Fuzz Will Travel" has more of a rock vibe, right from the start. This one features Tim Mancillas joining the group on lead guitar. It's a song about music, about guitars, and has some catchy elements, including the backing vocal work and a bit of cowbell (it's still difficult to hear a cowbell without thinking of that Saturday Night Live sketch). "Have fuzz will travel/Distorted thoughts and nothing more/When I plug into you/There's nothing else I want to do." And, you know, I think music is the power supply for a lot of us. Could we keep going withou it?
"The Song That Nobody Heard" is a delightful pop number, with a pleasant beat and vibe that feels familiar, like something that might be at home in a Patridge Family song (which is apparent even before they actually refer to "I Think I Love You" in the second verse). But then these guys do something different with it, taking what is totally cheerful, and giving it an unexpected edge. "Will I be rich, will I be poor/Am I just another bore/Singing songs like everyone else has done before?" And even the song's title is a bit of a play, "The Song That Nobody Heard," as it will sound familiar to anyone with a passing interest in pop music of the 1960s and 1970s, and in later power pop numbers. The vibe gets darker and heavier then with "Green Jesus," like a slow metal number. "Right now, can you hear me/Green Jesus?" I love that moment with the added percussion, which works in interesting contrast to that heavy rock sound. This band is so good at offering surprising mixes of influences and sounds and feelings. And in the second half of this track, there is another change, the band seeming ready to go into a different direction, perhaps to a lighter place, and then returning to the song's main landscape.
There are some strong 1960s influences heard in "Snacks And Treats," a fun, playful track. "Too much sugar can make you ill/Not so fast, you're gonna get fat/Don't be a spoiled brat." I have to remember to play this track for my brother Tim, because of its main line, "Snacks for Melody and treats for Tim." This song is totally enjoyable. I'm digging that stuff on keys. There are even hand claps. The vocal approach at times reminds me of Trey Anastasio. That's followed by the album's title track, "Psychology," and here we get into some delicious disco territory, with that totally wonderful bass line and solid beat. "My mind is racing/And I find myself still wandering/To places I don't want to go/So tell me what to do." Ah, yes. I love Natalie's sweet echoing of certain words: "psychology," "lobotomy," "shock therapy." This is another of the songs that I saw the band perform, one of the songs that made me want to own this album. It's so damn good.
A decade ago, Richard Duguay released a song titled "Fuck You Fame Whore," and that song inspired Drool Brothers to write their own "Fame Whore" (the night I saw Drool Brothers, Richard Duguay & The Beautiful Decline were also on the bill, so I got to hear both "Fame Whore" songs at that show). This song has quite a different vibe from the Richard Duguay song, and as it starts, something about it reminds me of "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" (it's at least partly because of the tambourine). This song has a cool garage rock sound. "Everybody around here's doing the same old thing (same old thing)/I'm getting really tired of the same old scene (same old scene)/Same old hair, same old walk/The same old crowd, the same old talk/It's getting really boring, the name-dropping scene." That's followed by "Freak Out." The lyrics in the song's first section are delivered as sort of spoken word. The track soon kicks in, just after we're told, "Breathe in, breathe out." And those lines are repeated as we return from the "freak out" part. This is a wild number, reminding me a bit of "Gloria" on the "freak out" part. "This is what it's about/Close your eyes and freak out."
The album concludes with "Dumb." Here is a taste of the lyrics: "You believe what other people say/You have no problem wasting your day/It's fun being dumb." I know I'm not alone in noticing that people have gotten much dumber in the last decade. If people were this stupid in the past, they were better at hiding it. Of course, the internet has given the dumbest people a large voice. But even before that, electing Ronald Reagan was an early clue that this nation was getting stupid. And then there was George W. Bush (dear lord). But those two seem like geniuses compared to the twit currently occupying the White House and all the morons who continue to support him. Are they happier, those morons? I don't know. But either way, we have to face it, we are a nation of idiots. "Wave your clown flag to the sky/You win, you win."
CD Track List
- Kaleidoscope
- Have Fuzz Will Travel
- The Song That Nobody Heard
- Green Jesus
- Snacks And Treats
- Psychology
- Fame Whore
- Freak Out
- Dumb
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