Mr. Oizo / Lambs Anger (Because/Ed Banger)

Mr. Oizo

Filmmaker/ leftfield adventurer Quentin Dupieux delivers his best beats yet in his first disc for Because, which bears the influence of his Ed Banger cohorts yet defiantly maintains the Oizo stamp of over-the-top weirdness.

Repeatedly during the course of Lambs Anger, a French filmstrip instructor butts in to remind listeners they should be reading books and that some of the cuts on this album are better than others. True enough, but luckily Oizo maintains a high standard throughout this set, and fans of his 2005 effort, Mustache (Half a Scissor), are going to have Lambs on repeat all winter. Comprised largely of short, hard-edged, stutter-edit techno bangers, the album has a jigsaw puzzle quality that hinders the individual tracks from standing too tall on their own. Take the Rob Base rewrite, “Two Takes It,” which melds uproarious horn samples, electric violin and congas—it lasts a mere two minutes. Oizo is more generous with his L.A. Style update, “Bruce Willis Is Dead,” blasting headache-inducing sirens over synth stabs and human rave hollers (with a BPM drop thrown in for good measure). By the time “Gay Dentists” bumps the meter into the red for the tenth time, Mr. Oizo’s ingenuity and stamina have bested practically all of his peers.

Christian W. Smith
File under: Justice, Surkin, SebAstian