Welcome to another edition of Alex's Music Nook™ sponsored by Music Merchant, 157 Westwood Avenue in Westwood, NJ. Today we'll be reviewing "Napkin V", the latest release from world-renowned supergroup and zamboni enthusiasts Thickly Painted Walls. The first thing I like to do when reviewing an album is evaluate the title and determine its meaning. Napkin is a medium-sized word, consisting of two smaller words. "Nap" means a short sleep and "kin" means a family member, so I'm pretty sure the artist intended the listener to think of a short family member while listening to this album. Then there's just a "V" at the end, which is just a letter. I think it may be referencing that movie "V for Vendetta," which I never saw, so I might be a little lost during portions of the album. Alright, enough of that mumbo-jumbo, let's get to the good stuff, the music. The first track is entitled "mehr drawing/dead fly". I'm not sure what a mehr drawing is, probably a "V for Vendetta" reference, but the dead fly part I get. This song really gives you the perspective of a dead fly, you can picture him there on the counter, writhing and twitching as he takes his final fly breaths. This is a very strong opening track with a very powerful visual. Next up is "2legit2quit", a cute but unusually short song that is obviously a parody of MC Hammer's smash hit of the same name. The third track "the obsession (Satan's Scrotum cover)" is a unique twist on the Satan's Scrotum classic, whether it lives up to it or not is completely subjective. It may depend on how big of a Satan's Scrotum fan you are. Up next is "desperate oddity" a positively groovy track that I just loved! This song should be playing at every junior prom across the country. Next is "Jew Girl Walk (Bad Feet)" which I guess is meant to simulate an older Jewish woman walking around her local town center in uncomfortable footwear, but it just made me feel indifferent, like playing Xenophobe on Atari 7800. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. The final track is "bad shitmaker", an epic, rousing tune, and an appropriate way to end the album. In conclusion, this is another home run for Thickly Painted Walls. You get the usual stellar, innovative instrumental sounds as well as a very strong vocal performance from Walls frontman Stefan Frederic Walz. I was really impressed with his ability to alter his pitch to evoke the proper emotion from the listener, the mood could transform from beautiful to haunting in an instant. Overall, on a scale of 45 wangdoodles on top of 94 flufferpusses, I give it a penis stripe. This album is highly recommended. Also, don't forget to check out Music Merchant, tell the ultra-cool owner that Big Al sent ya! ;)
-Alex Smith
1/16/2014
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