Combining music and comedy is a dicey proposition. For every Flight of The Conchords, there are 100 dudes who decided to punch up their awful stand-up acts with the three chords they know how to play on an acoustic guitar.
That's not the case with Everybody Was In The French Resistance...Now, a pop duo featuring Art Brut frontman Eddie Argo and his girlfriend, Dyan Valdes. No longer content with meta-songs like his primary project's "Formed A Band," Argo is responding directly to songwriters ranging from Bob Dylan to Avril Lavigne. Each cheery, poppy keyboard song on Together on Fixin' The Charts, Vol. 1 offers a cheeky response to a pop hit.
"Billie's Genes," for example, is narrated by the kid who Michael Jackson claimed is not his son, and features half-assed "Woo!" shouts and an incredibly cheap sounding synth-horn that brings to mind a Dollar General version of Quincy Jones' production. The single "G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N." is a (mysteriously misspelled) response to Lavigne's "Girlfriend," turning the tables on the would-be temptress: "I'm very in love with someone else / and we've got concerns about your mental health." A few hummable moments and mild chuckles are about all the record manages, although Argo, an engaging performer, should make it a fun experience live.
Maybe by Vol. 2 Argo will try his hand at full-on parody. "Weird Al" is probably about ready to pass the torch.
