Corn Mo's I Hope You Win! can only be described "heavy metal vaudeville." Across the album's 13 songs, Corn Mo (born Jon Cunningham) belts out numbers that are a cross between one-man song and dance routines and rock power ballads while accompanying himself on accordion, acoustic guitar, and cymbal. The songs combine pop culture references ("Hersey's Miniatures," a Welcome Back Kotter routine in "Plucky") with insistently comical suburban chronicling. Throughout, Corn Mo displays a nervous and twitchy bravado that is utterly and completely charming. He's got a massive set of vocal cords as well, and they serve him well as he belts out his catchy melodies. A large part of the music's appeal is certainly in its novelty, but the production on the disc, which includes drum machines, barking dogs, and toy pianos (in addition to the guitar and accordion), is enough to keep things surprising and interesting throughout.
© Jesse Jarnow /TiVo