The hilarious artwork made me quite curious what to expect… According to the booklet, the Mystechs wanted to get back to their roots, to the soil… to the country, after too many years in the city. So they threw out their synthesizers, got some friends together and started to make music on the porch on some old countryside veranda.
The end result is mostly hilarious. Country songs, which you can’t take too serious, suddenly mixed with rap or other exotic or funny lo-fi surprises. They even covered Psychic TV and Brian Eno… The mixture of styles on “City Folks” is so eclectic and distasteful that I won’t go into detail describing the songs. Just find out for yourself and listen to some mp3’s on the Mystechs’ website.
Some namedropping: other reviewers used names like Add N to X, Ween, Green Jelly, Village People, Gary Glitter, Neil Young, Kiss, Dwight Yoakham, Ludacris, B52’s Tom Waits, Residents, Beck and They Might be Giants and the rest of the music encyclopedia to describe this creation.
These new farmers on the block created a cocktail of country, zydeco, powerpop, rock, electro, disco, punk, a little rap and who knows what else. They are lousy and sleazy and they enjoy it!
Oh, did I tell you already about the lyrics? They are certainly of a high literary level:
I’m not made for the daily grind
Sliding through life all zombified
No, I want to prowl the other side
Hunt with the hyenas tonight
You were so bored waiting around
For sugar daddies to seduce you
So you slipped into panther skin
And found it rather suits you
– Cannibal Feast
or some more poetry:
I’m not normally
One to fetishize
But there’s something ‘bout Tokyo
On a misty night
Every piece of junk is a work of art
Go-go boy condoms and Hello Kitty cars
Space Lolitas in stripper bars
Why oh why must it be so far?
– I’d rather be Japanese
