Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords (2008, Sub Pop)

5 out of 5

This record is phenomenal. It combines humor with great songwriting in a similar way to last year's Dethalbum from Adult Swim's favorite Death Metal sons Dethklok, but instead of amazingly heavy Metal, Flight of the Conchords is White-boy folk-funk for dorks with the deadest of deadpan sense of humor. And, unlike HBO's other acoustic-comedy duo, Tenacious D, one of Flight of the Conchords doesn't take a backseat to the other. In fact, there isn't even a hint of Jack Black's overpowering personality on this record, and that's not a bad thing, though one of the songs sounds like an overly caffeinated Jack Johnson (though nothing about him is overpowering...).

Filled with loving tributes to arists from Serge Gainsbourg and Air ("Foux de Fafa") to the Pet Shop Boys ("Inner City Pressure"), Marvin Gaye ("Think About It"), Barry White ("Business Time"), and David Bowie (um...."Bowie"), these two Kiwis deserve every bit of hype that they're getting right now.

"Inner City Pressure," the aforementioned faux-Pet Shop Boys song, is very reminiscent of the note-perfect series of "Fake" songs off of Liam Lynch's album Fake Songs ("Fake Bjork Song," "Fake David Bowie Song," "Fake Pixies Song," "Fake Talking Heads Song," and the best, "Fake Depeche Mode Song") and features the amazing couplet "You know you're not in high finance, considering second-hand underpants."

"A Kiss Is Not A Contract" is the duo at their folkiest, while "Robots" is them at their most, well, robotic, with a chorus that sounds like it's sung by Ben Gibbard from the Conchords' label-mates the Postal Service, and a "Binary Solo!"

"The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room)" is the funniest and folkiest song that Prince never wrote (and the best fake Prince song since "Debra" off of Beck's Midnite Vultures), and "Business Time" takes Barry White's "Love Supreme Orchestra" style down to a slightly more realistic tone. It's a first-person account from the male half of a couple who has settled into an hilarious (if not a little depressing) routine, and makes lines like "I remove my clothes very, very clumsily, tripping sensuously over my pants/Now I'm naked except for my socks and you know when I'm down to just my socks what time it is...It's business time," sound oddly sexy. It also gave rise to one of the best t-shirts I've ever seen.

The biggest downside to this album, if you HAVE to find fault is that it doesn't have all of the songs from the first season of the Conchords' show, but if you HAVE to find an upside, that also saves what is an amazing 42 minutes from seeming forcedly long, with songs and greatness getting lost in the shuffle.

It also gives me an excuse to post this clip from the show:

=james