Lager Than Life

While the Poxy Boggards are vocally stronger than ever on Lager Than Life, the album is a bit more uneven than the group's previous efforts. With the band up to 11 members, the harmonies are huge, but some of the arrangements are uninspired and a few songs aren't up to their usual standard. On "Words to Sundry Notes of Music," a new setting of lyrics by William Shakespeare, the band sings simple choruses rather than the richer multi-part style that would have both fit the material better and been more typical of 16th century music. The group does make use of its new vocal power on a stunning version of "Mingulay Boat Song," which alone is worth the price of the CD, and on the original "The Girl With Red Hair." The album has a well-deserved parental advisory sticker on it, thanks to richly obscene tracks like "The Good Ship Venus" and "Bang Away Lulu," as well as a track that may be the band's best original song. "The Rooster, the Donkey, the Dog & the Cat" is an amazingly funny piece of wordplay, of the genre that is lewd only to people with dirty minds — which is all of the likely listeners to this album. Though there may be a bit of filler on Lager Than Life, there is certainly enough high-quality material to make this a recommended purchase. Note: As usual with the Boggards, there is a hidden track, and it's one of the best ones. "Coyote Ugly" shows what this band can do as an a cappella doo wop outfit, and it is rude and hilarious in equal measure.