Noplace Like Nowhere

Noplace Like Nowhere is the third Jim Infantino album to include his hilarious signature song, "Stress." But this latest incarnation, funked up with a groovy bassline and a swaggering jazz trumpet solo, illustrates the dramatic change in direction Infantino has taken since he founded his band, Jim's Big Ego. The original version of "Stress" was recorded when the singer/songwriter was playing on his own in Boston's crowded folk scene and it relied heavily on his energetic acoustic guitar riffs. But since then Infantino apparently realized that his zany sense of humor and envelope — pushing musical sensibility made him a natural fit for the increasingly visible genre of quirk rock. Noplace Like Nowhere, the third Jim's Big Ego record, draws inspiration from bands like Cake, Ween, and Barenaked Ladies in its blend of off kilter, politically conscious lyrics and eminently marketable modern rock arrangements. Particularly liberal in its use of Ween-esque absurdity is "She's Dead," a bizarre love ballad to a (presumably) dead woman that opens with a sort of morbid jump rope ditty ("Cadeever, cadaver/You know you want to have her/She's dead! She's dead! She's dead!") and closes with a rousing chorus of "la la la la la la" sung by the "South Boston Volunteer Men's Choir Brigade." "Angry White Guy" is a witty defense of affirmative action set to a funky bass-laden rap that is reminiscent of Soul Coughing. The album's most radio friendly track, "Concrete," tones down the wackiness in favor of an immaculately constructed pop hook that suggests a crossbreed of Barenaked Ladies and Ben Folds Five. The song would seem a near certain alternative radio hit if it were just a little more polished. The current version is somewhat rough around the edges, with too much emphasis in the mix on Infantino's unsteady vocals. Occasionally, the songwriter's folk roots creep through in reflective finger-picked ballads that sound for all the world like David Wilcox songs played on distorted electric guitars. But Noplace Like Nowhere hangs together remarkably well in light of the unusual breadth of its musical influences. Infantino sounds just as comfortable in his new quirk rock environment as he once did on the Boston coffeehouse circuit.