Rather like Pedestrian, I was relieved that this album turned out to be better than I expected. For me the principal redeeming feature was the chaotic, distorted guitars, including (after the initial shock) the OTT screeching guitar on Eye of the Chicken. I was won over by the enthusiastic, full-frontal attack of most tracks, and I also enjoyed the tracks apparently done for fun, like Dum Du and Lady Sniff. The "bullhorn singing" that Blarobbarg mentioned was pretty effective too - in fact I prefered it to the slightly Ferry-influenced vocals on Negro Observer.
Least favourite track was Butthole Surfer, which sounded very ordinary to me. My first-impression favourite was Cherub, which included a bit more musical exploration than elsewhere on the album. In fact, clocking in at only 35 minutes, I wish that the BHS had expanded some of the other short tracks. For a band so aggressively NOT mainstream, I wonder why they squeezed each song into a 3-min pop-song timeframe.
All in all, a refreshing listening experience for me, and a great antidote if you feel yourself getting too clogged up with restrained, respectful musicianship.
Thanks bob - for better or worse, I now know what a Butthole Surfer is !
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