Pants and the Family - Buffalo, NY

Pants and The Family "You Will Go To A Party Where Strange Customs Prevail" CD review.
Wait a second, I think I've been to a few parties like that...anyway, on with the review.  
"Lots of $ for Jesus, Not Much For Me" starts off with a great keyboard intro and then turns into a Talking Heads-like new wavish song. The singer sounds like the lead singer from 2Rabbit. Kudos to this band for composing music and song titles that sound very unique. I think it's important to note that each song is part of a larger Rock Opera, which is a very admirable undertaking for a local band.
How many local bands do you know of that are creative and confident enough to release a original rock opera? None that I know. Musical comparisons can be made to Green Jelly or Chunkpipe.
"Who Put The Holes In Mr. Wumpy?" is up next, the intro has a thunder tube and some random, classic, sound bites. The lyrics brought a sly smile to my face as the keyboard rose up and down setting the tempo.
"Uncle Charlie's Lap" has a rockin' drum track and a keyboard provides a smooth melody. This song brought back some childhood memories for me. Every family has a favorite Uncle or Aunt, that we all took turns sitting in as kids. It's a family tradition.
"Abandoned Gravy Train Station" has a ominous sounding keyboard track and I want to hear the keys louder in the mix. A cool bass solo takes center stage halfway through the song.
The guitar intro for "Please Ignore The Clown" is a nice touch on a keyboard based soundtrack. The keyboard plays a spooky chord progression over a low key vocal. This song is my favorite on the CD so far, I wanted to hear a little guitar solo using the sound on the track along with all the other great noises on the song.
The psuedo-jazz musical intro for "In Bed with Frogs and Toads" threw me for a loop almost as much as the song title, think about for a second or two...yuch. The song continues on with a up-tempo, keyboard based groove that reminded of an old Joe Jackson song from the 80's.
"Things Were So Much Better (Before Ginger and Mary Ann)" has a 60's psychedelic/garage rock groove. I definitely dug the groovy beat. 
"Mud Flap Prophet" was very new wave and the instrumental breakdown at the end was great.
"Hot Steamy Stank (Blue Plate Special)" has a nice call and return part with male vocalist and the female narrator, it would have been good to hear more vocal interplay between, like a B-52's song.
The title track is a true, psychedelic explosion! The instrumental features Floyd/Primus electrical bass sounds served up with a heavy dose of noise and various vocal things that fade in and out adding to the musical chaos. 
"Twelve Miles East Of Stupid" continues along the same vein but has a Pink Floyd vocal sound and tempo.
The melodies and sounds on "Why Drive When You Can Stay Home" reminded me of 70's progressive rock. The keyboards sound huge and hypnotizing along with the distorted bass. The vocal lines break up the big keyboard parts.
"You Will Go To A Party Where Strange Customs Prevail" closes out with "All The Houses Have Mean Faces". This song closes out the CD on a high note with a song that conveys an uplifting mood with it's uptempo rhythm. A honest comparison can be made to the Flamings Lips.
You Will Go To A Party Where Strange Customs Prevail is a great musical effort by a band of highly talented musicians.
Special Thanks goes out to Marc and the entire Pants and The Family band.