Hrab, George: Interrobang

Time to come clean: I've never heard of George Hrab. And even though his fifth album, Interrobang, apparently is as confessional and personal as the drummer-turned-multi-instrumental vocalist gets, Hrab warns liner-notes readers: "Don't you assume you really know me." That established — and without even hearing a single note on this odd 60-minute CD influenced by Talking Heads, Frank Zappa and Prince — it's clear that Hrab isn't your typical do-it-yourself indie recording artist. The tall, bespectacled and bald man poses nude (save for a pair of red high-top sneakers) on the cover, the detailed and mind-bending liner notes explain the theory of relativity, and the disc itself is packaged in one of those sleek, clear-plastic DVD cases. It won't fit on your shelf between the Bruce Hornsby and Hum Machine CDs, but if it's any consolation, Interrobang did recently nab an ADDY® Award for its packaging design.

But, you ask, what about the music? Well, the music is a fun and delightful cornucopia of rock and pop song structures (as opposed to the funk and R&B leanings of Hrab's earlier albums) with lyrics that'll make you think more than you want to. The bald naked guy performs an awesome drum solo on "We're Looking for Something a Bit More Ethnic," paraphrases Carly Simon on "Out of My Mind" and takes plenty of shots at the GOP on "?" — which comes with 17(!) footnotes in Interrobang's booklet. The album gets a bit blustery and self-indulgent near its conclusion— a song about squirrels? — but at the end of it all, Hrab thanks me for listening to Interrobang, and that makes up for everything else.

Cheers, George.

Track Listing:
1) Blue Genes
2) Barney's in the Vent
3) The Assumption
4) 'Ya Famous?
5) Disappointed
6) Out of My Mind
7) ?
8) She Suffers From Superlatives
9) !
10) We're Looking for Something More Ethnic
11) Done Talking
12) Who Dogs the Outlet
13) Sciurus Carolinensis
14) Untitled Bonus Track

Added: May 2nd 2006
Reviewer: Michael Popke
Score:
Related Link: Geologic Records
Hits: 3031
Language: english

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