The title of this album is the best possible description, not only for this particular release, Headless Household's third, but for the entire output of this strange band from Santa Barbara, California. Because Headless Household are all about eclecticism. The band plucks items from a very wide range of musical genres. The album opener, "Fan Fair," sounds just like...well...a fanfare, while the next song ("Hypothyroid Dough Boy") is driven by an angular funk rhythm with a little guitar melody very reminiscent of the theme song from the Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon. The song then breaks totally free, only to come together once again, this time topped by a dismembered solo from guest hornist Jeff Kaiser. The next tune, "3 A.M. Western," is a beautiful (and very tonal) country-jazz ballad and the fourth a free improv jam. By now you should get the idea: whatever it is you just heard, there is absolutely no guarantee the next minute will be in the same vein. On Items, Headless Household touch mainstream jazz, free jazz, Western, polka, some very cheesy things, and Zappa-like avant-rocking. The pool of guest musicians appearing on the album also has something to do with this ever-changing sound, adding to Household's basic guitar/keys/bass/drums instrumentation: trumpet (Jeff Kaiser), violin (Gilles Apap), alto (David Binney) and tenor (Tom Buckner) sax, and even some vocals on two tracks. Don't think Headless Household lack direction, though. All this variety serves them well, and the listener -- although often surprised or taken off-guard -- doesn't feel lost on Items. These guys know what they're doing and they do it very well. Fans of Frank Zappa and the like, or simply those who appreciate not being able to predict what will happen for the next hour after the first two minutes of the CD, should definitely try to track this one down.
© François Couture /TiVo