WERS 88.9 fm - Album Reviews: Flight Of The Conchords: I Told You I Was Freaky

January 22^nd, 2010

New Zealand’s “formally most popular guitar-based digi-bongo a capella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo” brings forth another wave of comedy inspired music. Flight of the Conchords released their second album of songs in correlation with their popular television show on HBO.

The album has not been widely accepted, perhaps even less than its processor, but that is not simply because it is a comedy album. Comedy in music is not a bad thing; it has its own place in art and our appreciation for it, but this album does not represent FOTC at its best.

It is plainly evident that the pressure to put on a second season of the show in a timely matter affected the content of the songs. The songs of I Told You I Was Freaky lack the wit and purposefulness that the songs from their first album had.

The best song on the album happens to be the first track, “Hurt Feelings.” It has the same hilarious hip-hop attitude of “Hiphopopotamus,” and has a welcoming ability to stay trapped in your head for a few hours.

The songs of the second season tend to parody genres, which is amusing at first, but quickly loses its flavor. However, “You Don’t Have To Be A Prostitute,” is one of the funniest songs of the album, which seems to parody The Police’s “Roxanne.”

As for the worst song of the album, hitting the skip button on “We’re Both in Love with a Sexy Lady,” would be advisable. The song in relation to the events of the episode is not so bad, but by itself it becomes a painful arrangement of spoken word, with very little melody, droning on about a girl they both spotted “Running in the park just now…looking for her epileptic dog”

All of these songs are greatly supported by the plot of each episode so a lot of their humorous weight is lost as a stand-alone album.  Many of them may have too much of a novelty feel for listeners, but that is exactly what FOTC plays on television, a novelty band whose only fan is their stalker, Mel. When the songs are paired with their music videos, and Bret and Jemaine’s antics, they are ‘flippin’ hysterical, but without those images the humor tends to be forgotten.

However, it is hard not to love these guys. The artwork and packaging of the album is phenomenally intricate, containing lyrics of all their songs with labeled chord progressions. Even their written acknowledgements display their unfailing need for comedy in their lives as they thank their mamas, their babies, their babies’ mamas, nature, technology, emotions, the ocean, and you. “Yes, you.”

-By Teresa Garigen