Album Review by EDF
Destined to be a cult figure, Liam Lynch seems to have done a lot before he became widely known. With a head start being the creator, co-writer, musician, actor, director and executive producer of MTV’s SIFL AND OLLY, he has also directed videos for the Foo Fighters and Tenacious D. He was prestigiously picked by Paul McCartney for the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Best compared to Weird Al Yankovic, there are a few surprises on this album.
SOS kicks off the album, having more in common with Punk and New Wave than any present day genres. The way the lyrics of the single UNITED STATES OF WHATEVER are delivered reminds me a bit of the US artist Mojo Nixon. On most of the tracks though, Lynch tries hard to make each track sound different. This just highlights the fact that without his true voice shining through, he is himself a fake.
Of course the fake part of the album is the delivery of the fake guest artists on the likes of FAKE DAVID BOWIE SONG and FAKE TALKING HEADS SONG. The most impressive of these tracks is the FAKE BJORK SONG featuring a terrific Bjork impersonation by Lynch. CUZ YOU DO could easily be the White Stripes but with a little help from Ringo Starr on drums. Even Jack Black makes an appearance on the loud ROCK AND ROLL WHORE.
This does try to be a fun album, highlighted by tracks such as the church sermon like ELECTRICIAN’S DAY, the electro rock rap of RAPBOT and SUGAR WALKIN’ 70’s disco. HAPPY might be funny but can be tiresome after a few listens and seems hard at trying to be a bit like They Might Be Giants. FAKE DEPECHE MODE SONG just does not work as it tries to hard to be like the group and just falls flat. This is indeed a strange album. Unlike Weird Al, it is quite difficult to figure out whether you will find this album in the comedy section or the rock section. A bit more of Liam Lynch is required to determine where the line is between comedy and artist.
