In a way, Nardwuar the Human Serviette is the
Ali G of Canada. He runs a record label, is a member of at least two other bands besides
the Evaporators, and has built a lovable and/or infamous rep as a celebrity interviewer for radio station CiTR FM 102 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Actually, it's unclear whether all of that makes him the country's
Ali G. What is clear upon hearing
Ripple Rock, their debut for Alternative Tentacles, is that
the Evaporators only add to Vancouver's already impressive roster of indie-minded and slightly off-kilter rockers (
New Pornographers,
Destroyer, etc.).
Ripple Rock is a raucous gift box of goofy lyrics ("[I've Got] Icicles on My Testicles"), trashy organ-driven garage rock like "Nard Nest" and "I Feel Like a Fat Frustrated Fuck" -- where Nardwuar's self-incriminating chorus is reiterated by always-lovely Vancouver resident (and ex-
Cub-er) Lisa Marr -- and the world's best abbreviation in "I.D.N.M.F.T.T.M.W.M.F.A." The Evaporators include some Canadian history for their new American friends in the title track and album liners, and "Shittin' Party" is actually one of
Ripple's prettier songs. That isn't to say anything here is ugly (well, maybe those outfits on the back cover...); on the contrary, the album is relentlessly hooky and full of frenetic electric guitar solos, and Nardwuar's high-pitched John S. Hall impersonation is oddly endearing, even if you aren't Canadian. Stay tuned for the hilarious interview snippets "Nardwuar vs. Rahzel" and "Nardwuar vs. Snoop Doggy Dogg" -- each are interesting forays into the psyche of a man with the stones to rhyme "
L.A. Guns or
Enuff Z'nuff" with "They come to mind but that's not the stuff" in the happy-go-lucky anthem "Addicted to Cheese." [
Ripple Rock also included five bonus tracks from Nardwuar's other band, Thee Dublins.] ~ Johnny Loftus