Music review: Mr Oizo - Lambs Anger

Quentin Dupieux's latest full-length album is a self-confessed mixed bag - the first track Hun admitting that of the collection of this recorded stuff, "some are good, some are bad and some are just OK." That track happens to be very good, impressively climaxing into the less-than-brilliant bare-bones raver Pourriture 2, which then leads into the phenomenal floor-shaker Z, and so on. Instead of continuing my review in this disjointed format, I might as well announce that I have come to a decision based on Quentin's honest statement - of the 17 tracks there are five good, eight OK and four bad. A disappointing realisation considering the consistent brilliance of his previous albums Analog Worms Attack and Moustache (Half A Scissor).

Nonetheless, any serious electronic music fan will have already scrutinised this release in its entirety and decided on which tracks belong in which of the three categories, the reason for this being that he remains one of the most popular, exciting and opinion-splitting musicians around.

As I mentioned, Hun and Z are highlights, as are Jo and Positif. Elsewhere, the shorter tracks such as Lambs Anger and Lars Von Sen are little more than filler, while tracks from the second half of the album like Erreur Jean and Gay Dentists lack the expected luminosity to match those from the first.

Sadly, the bad tracks really do reach some extremely low depths. I was disappointed to hear music so normal and mainstream in the form of Two Takes It. Bruce Willis Is Dead sounds like something from the bargain bin of a Cock Rock Disco sale and for me both of the Pourriture tracks provide little pleasure.

Integrating Lambs Anger into an Extreme Electronic Experience is an interesting experiment. You could do worse than add the tracks to your custom radio station on GTA IV or listen while playing a hectic game of Team Fortress 2, these combinations sparking feverishly high levels of quirkiness.

It's a real shame that Lambs Anger doesn't come close to Mr Oizo's first two albums, and the respect I have for the artist makes me feel dirty for having to give it such a mediocre score, when he is clearly anything but mediocre. So I'll shower now.

6/10