Naughty Appliances III
Various Artists
Hippo
Hippo Records comes through again! I guess there’s plenty of material for bands focusing their artistic vision on not-too-reliable machinery. Moving in the direction of last year’s release, Hippo seems to be featuring more electronica than traditional punk or hard rock. Which isn’t to say that they’ve ignoring punk rock; quite the contrary, half the record is punk. And here’s a classic example, dig this song title, by the Sheep Arrangers: “Why Doesn’t this Shit Just Work?” I mean, that’s punk angst right there, isn’t it? The shit is supposed to work right out of the friggin’ box, right? Why should I sit here screaming at my monitor because it thinks my video card isn’t installed? Really! This goes right along with the Packard-Bell Mafia’s punk rock song “89-day Warranty Bullshit.” This stuff is right on the money. There’s also some great naughty appliance punk rock from the Shower Temperature Control Conspiracy, Out of Postage Stamps, the Annoying Skipping CD Players, the Dropped Walkmen, and the Full Kitchen Trash Cans.
So much for the punk rock. The Electronica is pretty good, if you like that sort of thing. Fans of Icelandic solo artist Djörk will really like her hauntingly goth-electronic song “Babysitting the Washing Machine.” The Broken Cassette Decks and It’s Not Been a Year Yet do a fascinating, euphoric – and coming in at ten minutes, really long – song called “Dining Room Booby Traps.” There’s also an interesting tune called “Out of Batteries” by the Confusing Fuseboxes. Another winner, although the packaging is a bit frustrating as the CD was just big enough not to fit inside my tote bag.
Hippo Records, 666 Duncecap Road, Mister Lake, WI 887765
