Ween - Pure Guava

Ween's album preceding Chocolate and Cheese, and while that one was hard to pin down to a genre besides the general retro vibe, Pure Guava's a little more cohesive - at least in the sense that it's all drugged out, bizarre alternative pop. There is a lot of vocal distortion to both ends of the spectrum - deep and high. Plenty of the songs are simple, one trick throwaways, although they usually have something going for them that makes them a little more compelling than similar tracks on Chocolate and Cheese. There's really not that much separating them though, they all fit into Ween's unique sensibilities. They're so over-the-top non-serious that it actually becomes a kind of seriousness - the Ween brothers are dedicated to their craft of guitars, drum machines, and non-sequitur.

It's actually more difficult to find vocals that aren't played with in some way than ones that are - they don't seem to be content unless something's abnormal. An exception is "Don't Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy)", my favorite song thus far by the band. It's an almost standard rock song just from a musical standpoint, but the chorus is perfect; a little disturbing, yet also very catchy. When the instruments drop out in the climax and a wonderfully creepy-sounding group belts out the refrain, it's a transcendent moments. There's plenty of other good stuff to go around though, as every song seems likable in some way. One of the two parts of "I Play It Off Legit" is literally phoned-in the entire time. "Push th' Little Daisies" is one of the weirdest singles to ever get radio time. "Mourning Glory" is a great experimental track, with shouted, often nonsensical lyrics and music made entirely of distorted feedback. I wish it were a little more structured, because it could have been legitimately catchy, but the imperfection is part of its charm. It's definitely not a band I'd recommend to anyone, but if you have any taste at all for something enjoyable that doesn't take itself too seriously, Pure Guava's pretty good.