CD Review: Flight of the Conchords "I Told You I Was Freaky”

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Published: November 6, 2009

ALTERNATIVE/COMEDY
(Sub Pop)

Beyond Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie’s brilliantly self-satirical lyrics, Flight of the Conchords works its magic thanks to an unimpeach-able mimicry skill. "Bowie” and the Pet Shop Boys parody "Inner City Pressure” from the duo’s 2008 debut used musical precision to expertly telegraph the jokes. For "I Told You I Was Freaky,” the duo delves deep into soul textures and goofball come-ons, and frankly, it’s ample proof that R&B radio would be tons more tolerable if Clement and McKenzie hired out as lyricists.

Witness the brilliantly dopey "Sugalumps,” a dorky male equivalent to the Black Eyed Peas’ "My Humps”: "You probably think that my pants have the mumps,” Clement sings in a series of strained double entendres, which work beautifully as both pop and comedy. Similarly, "We’re Both in Love With a Sexy Lady” is a spot-on parody of R. Kelly and Usher’s "Same Girl,” except the girl (played by Kristen Wiig on the duo’s HBO series) has a lazy eye and a lost terrier.

While "Freaky” is front-loaded with R&B, some of the most canny digs are aimed at classic pop. It’s only an accident of history that Billy Joel didn’t write "Rambling Through the Avenues of Time” during his flowery "Piano Man” period, and Ray Davies would have been proud to write the jaunty litany of ex-girlfriends, "Carol Brown.” The continued success of HBO’s "Flight of the Conchords” notwithstanding, "I Told You I Was Freaky” proves Clement and McKenzie’s music does not need visual aids to be down, dirty and stupid-funny.

— George Lang