By Greg Beets

Soothing Sounds For Baby (Fume)

OCTOBER 13, 1997:  Soothing sounds my ass! This album takes you on a wild ride frought with many a hairpin curve, and once the Adults get their motors running, there's no time for scenic overlooks. Combining the aural non-sequiturs of Raymond Scott and Carl Stalling with an intimate homemade punk aesthetic, Soothing Sounds for Baby resonates like a strange Saturday morning adventure. All the songs are sewn together into a collage that recalls the goofy aplomb of the Dust Brothers or Ween. The maudlin family organ cha-cha on "A Sonic Riot (in D Major)" is rudely displaced by "The Aleph," a slam-bang variation on the theme from The Munsters. The quartet's dynamic propensity for commingling outlying notes with inebriated stop-start patters is supplemented by surreal, discordant interludes that tap everything from avant hip-hop beats ("Squeak Honk Squawk") to cocktail psychedelia ("Mesmer"). By refusing to settle into a groove, the Adults have built an album that playfully frustrates the time/space continuum in a manner that's both uncomfortable and fun. When the music's over, it feels like you've just stepped out of a long movie.
3.5 Stars -- Greg Beets

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