The Thingz

(Pelado)
by Ewan Wadharmi

The Thingz‘ Ramones-inflected theme song mentions letting them out of the box, which should’ve been an obvious Dr. Seuss reference, and I missed it. However, my initial thought of The Addams Family works just as well with the campy horror humor. This really scratches that itch for garage rock with brilliantly retarded lyrics. Some, like “Mom Caught Me Masticating,” are over-stretched bits like a Saturday Night Live sketch that never should’ve been granted airtime, but there are flashes of genius in “I Often Sleep But Seldom Die” and “Manicotti Massacre” that sell their catch phrases to your pop-culture psyche. Without actually saying “The Ballad of…,” they spin the tales of a whole cast of interesting characters: The deceased Goggles Paisano, the garbage-eating Dipper Dan, and Flem Snopes, which channels the Stooges’ “1970.” You get tastes of The Cramps in the surfed-out “Chicken in a Graveyard” and “Bill Bored,” plus a respectably bluesy harmonica romp. If cleverness is your bag, you’ll be impressed by lyrics like “Shadows dim and the night grows late/close our eyes and somnabulate,” which is sing-sung by Kimthing like a disinterested Johnny Rotten while her male counterpart, Mike Morris, exudes an excitable cool jerk nerdiness. “Quiet Coyote” is one of the most head-scratchingly bizarre songs you’ve ever loved. Only people who like silliness and a damn good time are going to let The Thingz loose in their homes while mother is gone.
(www.peladorecords.com)