Neanderthal Spongecake - The Side Effects Of Napalm (1999)

Neanderthal Spongecake is the musical alter ego of a one Cevin Soling, a charming, witty and not unskilled artist who is having way too much fun with The Side Effects Of Napalm. This is the sort of record that drives "serious" rock critics – the kind with reputations and six figure books deals – to apoplexy. A surrealist rock & roll romp across a musical horizon that even Dali couldn't capture on canvas, The Side Effects Of Napalm is a quirky, funny, maddening and slightly confusing collection of songs that do a fine job of showcasing Soling's unique talents.

To try and pin down The Side Effects Of Napalm to some sort of critical categorization just won't work. The songs here run the gamut from the serious to the absurd – from Soling's heartfelt ode to his tapeworm, a song about "Swamp Gas" or theological reflections on a "Boss God" that includes questions about the Almighty's upbringing. "Everything" is a bluesy garage band-styled tune that is as close as Neanderthal Spongecake comes to a love song. A fine cover of Quiet Riot's "Metal Health" (with Kevin Dubrow on guest vocals) is later reprised as the hilarious "Slacker Health" ("Bang your head," indeed!). "Buffalo" is a great song about the charms of that underrated city on Lake Erie while "Tastes Like Chicken" is, well, just plain damn weird.

Altogether, The Side Effects Of Napalm is quite an infectious collection, an album that will gradually grow on you – not like leprosy, but rather like mono. You're not sure where you got it from, but you probably had a good time getting there. The Rev sez "check it out!" (Xemu Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Side Effects Of Napalm from Amazon.com)