Retardos De La Mour

There's not much to say about a band who titles one of their songs "Niggers and Queers AKA A Vile Homophobic Bigot Suffers from a Home Invasion by the Stereotypes of His Worst Nightmares." The vocals ring of Jello Biafra, and the music hits close to the early proto-punk days of the Stooges. Most of the songs have a sense of humor akin to a middle-schooler: Jokes about dicks and urination populate the lyrics like dandelions in an unmowed field.

But somehow I'm diggin' on it. The songwriting has enough ties to rock 'n' roll roots, with laid back drums and actual guitar riffs. Maybe it's the Hasil Adkins effect. Everything can be taken with a grain of salt if you've got enough twang to your voice. Take for instance the country-noir "Me An' My Pal," a deep-fried rockabilly tune about betrayal and turning state's evidence. Your favorite alt-country band would be proud to have a song this fine in their repertoire.

It's not high art by any means, or really any art by any means. It kicks and jerks like a badly produced garage record from the `70s, refuses to apologize or make nice. I can't help but appreciate the effort. Although most songs are just as easy to forget as they are to listen to, it puts a smirk on my face listening to it. And although the art is so horrible and shoddy, it's almost endearing.

I'm not sure I'll ever listen to it again, but I most certainly didn't mind listening to it the first time.