Ween

Ween fans already know what to expect with Shinola, Volume 1 as Gene and Dean Ween scrape another layer off music's fat underbelly. This time out, the Weeners take on at least fifteen genres with equal aplomb, from jazz and R&B to Brit pop and house. The two manage to seize upon the smallest idea and turn it into a massive song. Take "Big Fat Fuck," for example, in which drugged-out vocals moan and groan the lines "Big fat fuck/Feeling like a big fat fuck" over blazing guitars and a seemingly endless synth riff. That hypnotic tune is supplemented by such cuts as "Someday," a dreamy, '60s-era Brit-pop ballad, and "Did You See Me?" a mushroom-induced slow-mo trip into psychedelia. Each song is equally well done and leaves you feeling like you've been punk'd -- not for listening to the record, but for enjoying it so much. As awesome as these guys are as musicians, they're even more talented as satirists. Are they laughing with you or at you? Hard to say. But as long as they keep delivering this caliber of music, who the hell cares?