The World/Inferno Friendship Society
The True Story of The Bridgewater Astral League
Gern Blandsten
Put this on and – blam. A complete burst of scary spooky energy, like a cross between Oingo Boingo and early Fishbone. With a sense of tempo and frantic delivery worthy of Danny Elfman, “A Night In The Woods” cooks, and it cooks to perfection. The following tracks do well in following this trendsetter, showing The W/IFS to have their sound and chops down. To top it off, lyrics whose real meaning is only lewdly implied abound, in song titles even: “The Evil Dance of Nosliw Plif.” When they veer from this formula, it’s usually for something as incendiary as, well, “Incendiarism,” which puts a wide variety of vocals that build up to a galloping chorus. Keep in mind, that’s only the first three tracks. There’s much more – hidden banjos, the shortwave radio as an instrument, bonus tracks that sound like bonus tracks (not regular tracks someone decided to call “bonus”). I can’t remember the last time I was so entertained. Gern Blandsten, P.O. Box 356, River Edge, NJ 07661
