La Cucaracha

The final studio album before Aaron Freeman (a.k.a. Gene Ween) left the band he'd founded with best friend Mickey Melchiondo (a.k.a. Dean Ween) in junior high school, La Cucaracha is a wholesome sendoff to a group that traversed massive musical territory in its 20-plus years. Recorded in a farmhouse in Ween’s hometown of New Hope, Pa., La Cucaracha applies the gentler disposition of Ween's post-2000 output to the stylistic morphology that brought it acclaim in the early '90s. As in its early years, Ween manages to touch many extremes, from the caveman rock of “With My Own Bare Hands” to the reggae of “The Fruit Man” and the Britannic whimsy of “Blue Balloon” and “Object.” Recurring lyrical themes include friendship and romance, and “Sweetheart” and “Lullaby” prove to be two of Ween's most tender and openhearted songs. Delivered in the style of a Eurodisco sing-along, “Friends” feels like the duo’s autobiography and also a love note to its fans. Finally, “Your Party” functions as a bittersweet farewell done Ween-style, as the touching lyric (“As friends we were always so close but so far away”) is juxtaposed with a smooth jazz sax solo.