II

11/05/1996 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
John Kordosh

The screwball charm generated by the Presidents Of The United States Of America on last year's self-titled debut is still going strong. As is their stripped-down sound and freewheeling, creative approach to writing songs about meaningless stuff. Who'da thought you could get rich off a notion this weird?

The record's strongest moments come when the Prezzes are on the verge of flipping out even within their own self-defined context. Like on the lead track, a pseudo-Sgt. Pepper-ish intro called "Ladies and Gentlemen, Part I," in which they sing "Hello, ladies and gentlemen, explosions and fire." (They just sing it, you understand; there are no explosions nor fire noises going on. Talk about high concept!) "Volcano," probably the disc's best track, continues the band's fascination with grafting rock technology onto the biosphere (ala the first LP's "Feather Pluckn"). It's also an absolute whacko lyricfest: "Supersonic, plate tectonics, stereophonic, lava and tonic, Sony shut down, Magnavox meltdown." You get the idea, but "Toob Amplifier" ups the ante by actually working a product endorsement (Sabian cymbals) into the song--a brilliant notion I'd like to see emulated. Well, occasionally. And I do believe they've hit the absolute apex (or nadir, depending on your viewpoint) of nothing songs with "Twig," featuring the wonderful lyric "I'm thick and thin and all right."

Yep, sure sounds like a twig to me.

It's not all nutso lyrics, though. Like their first record, II is replete with their twangy and ticky-tacky swamp guitar, although the overall sound is a little tougher. (The end of "Bug City"--how's that for an unexpected Presidents' song title?--builds like a mutha, led by a piano and, I think, a synthesizer.) The Prezzes would do well to continue to try to expand their little aural universe, `cause let's face it: their sound will start annoying the hell out of most of us by III. As for now, I think they know their limitations and are playing within them. Nothing wrong with that.