An odd little project masterminded by ex-
Waitresses and
Tin Huey songwriter/multi-instrumentalist
Chris Butler attempts to combine the tongue-in-cheeky humor of
Spinal Tap with the bubbly
girl group '70s sound of
ABBA. The concept is innovative and female singer
Carla Murray has the perfect
Susanna Hoffs-styled pipes to pull it off, but the material is too hit-and-miss for the whole album to succeed effectively. A concept piece that is supposedly a greatest hits compilation from Europe's "second best
pop group," the album is assembled chronologically from songs ostensibly recorded from 1967 until 1999 by imaginary members
Furk and
Trynka Zhenk.
Butler uses some of his
Waitresses tricks, in particular
Murray's bored, breathy vocals, to add an appropriately retro quality. When the songs click, as on the anthemic
"Sky Men" cover, a perfect knockoff of a '60s
Joe Meek pop production complete with ondioline keyboard and lots of cheesy overdubs, he hits the mark. But for every perfectly executed parody,
Butler misses with tunes that wander and sound either unfinished or half-baked. On the loungy
"Coming Back Down to Earth," you can't really tell if he's playing it straight. At almost 65 minutes (17 of which are five bonus tracks of alternate versions), the whole project just loses steam before it peters out. The few songs sung by
Butler only prove he was right in hiring other vocalists to sing his words. Still there are enough colorful highlights for those who have followed the talented (he plays all the instruments, writes the material, and produces)
Butler's erratic career to revel in his obvious creativity.
Kilopop is a minor and inconsistent work that admirably strives for a goal it doesn't quite hit. The packaging is a witty take-off on Europe's LU Biscuits, and the track-by-track notes, which purportedly explain each song's origin, are so hysterically witty, they are almost worth the price of the disc. ~ Hal Horowitz
