Even though
Public Works is a collection of singles, compilation tracks, and unreleased material, it serves as a summary of the band's activity from 1990 to 2000. Centered on Slim Moon (founder of the Kill Rock Stars label),
Witchy Poo was a loose-geometry outfit that could include three to 30 musicians. The lineup changes 22 times on these 22 tracks and that's only one aspect of the chameleon-like qualities of
Public Works. The listener is bounced around from basement recordings to fully produced studio tracks, from straight punk rock numbers to experimental extravaganzas, pop melodies, and quirky covers of tunes by
the Cars,
Cat Stevens, the Melvins,
Paul Simon,
Elvis Costello, and
Mel Brooks.
Witchy Poo was an indie rock version of the Mothers of Invention, blending creative genius with cynicism and banality. Standout tracks on
Public Works include the straight-but-weird take on
the Cars' "Touch and Go" (straight beat, weird twangy out of tune guitar), Stevens' "Moonshadow" shouted over a rhythm track that sounds lifted from
Einstürzende Neubauten, and the hypnotic "Olympia Must Die." The album is uneven, but there is plenty here for the fan or the unsuspecting ear. Indie rock's raw force fuses with
Zappa-esque conceptuality and quirkiness: avant-gardist yet rude. ~ François Couture