Strange Animals

On their sophomore effort, the Toyes make a bid for the title of Best American Reggae Band. Okay, maybe there's not that much competition. But this is a great album by any standard: production quality is up significantly from the debut, and bandleader Mawg is writing songs even tighter and hookier than before. One thing that hasn't changed is his wicked sense of humor and his manifest inability to suffer fools gladly-"Whatever That Means" takes on presidential politics, while "Waiting for the Aliens" is a ridiculously catchy take on alien abduction theories. He gets maybe a bit too self-referential on "The Show Biz Food Chain," which bemoans the band's inability to break into the national spotlight. But at least he does it all with a grin, and his homeopathy anthem ("Green Doctor") is so sweetly funny that it more than makes up for the occasional misstep. The band is tighter than ever, thanks partly to the bass playing of Fully Fullwood and partly to guest drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis, a veteran of the Roots Radics band and Bunny Lee's studio. Highly recommended.