Nuttin' Butt Funk

Mention the Detroit Grand Pubahs in cosmopolitan company and within ten seconds someone's bound to bring up their 2001 electro-booty single "Sandwiches," and with good reason. After the duo was dropped by major label Jive, member Andy Toth split, leaving Paris the Black Fu to fend for himself on the everyday Galactic Ass Creatures from Uranus album. Next, a handful of singles arrived, but they were ignored and then forgotten by all but the left-field techno faithful. The funny song titles, the sleazy narrations, and other attempts to recapture the "Sandwiches" magic all seemed forced, and while that's somewhat true here, Nuttin' Butt Funk with Paris joined by new sidekick the Mysterious Mr. O excels when it brings the detached Detroit techno-funk. "Message from Overkill" causes nonstop hypnosis with its tight Jeff Mills-style looping, while the echoing industrial dub of "502,000 Legions" along with the other semi-serious sci-fi moments scattered about bring reminders of the legendary Drexciya. Other instrumentals share the spirit of "the Belleville Three" (Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson) and the wacky side of Chi-town's Green Velvet is an obvious influence, but by connecting the dots from the bit of "Lady Cab Driver" found in "Butt Market" to Blake Baxter and his use of Prince songs, the true spiritual godfather of the album is brought to light. Here, the Pubahs share the Detroit producer's love of blending Chicago house beats with local techno bleeps, but Baxter's clever sense of humor is replaced by a less than appealing mash of frat boy jokes and Kool Keith foolishness. "Thanks for Coming" drags its creepy talk of seduction ("You'd look perfect in nothing at all/[long, deep breath]/Aw, your feet!") for over seven tedious minutes, and elsewhere, a Darth Vader voice declares "I like touching myself in public, Luke" six excruciating times. While there are a couple more overly odd and uninteresting attempts at re-creating the world of "Sandwiches," the many surprisingly deep moments satisfy, pushing the uneven Nuttin' Butt Funk firmly into the category of "good."