THE EVAPORATORS
Ripple Rock (Alternative Tentacles)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Is this really the same Evaporators I heard four years ago? To put it charitably, in order to prevent hurt feelings and to make sure good vibes are maintai... oh screw it, they blew. They had humor, but some people have been known to be hilarious the moment before the trap door was sprung on their gallows. This band, these Evaporators, are funny and they can play their instruments, write clever arrangements and even shift speeds and genres in mid-song. I'm not talking about cheap parlor tricks here. Sure, there's a silly-factor at work in songs like "(I've Got) Icicles On My Testicles" and "Barney Rubble Is My Double," but they're fun songs, and the music - quirky, playful punk with tastes of everything from ska to funk thrown in because they wanna and can - is so infectious the album should be called Four Man Epidemic. The guy who fronts the band is known as Nardwuar the Human Serviette, a "famous in the Canadian underground" character who has survived an aneurysm and years of night club weirdness to make this dynamite CD. My guess is there are some things that would have tipped me off to this in advance if I was a bit more tuned in to the Canadian scene. It's amazing enough to send me on a desperate mission looking for any of their stuff I might have missed recently. Highly recommended.

© 2004 - DJ Johnson