Double U

I've always loved films like Brazil, Tales From Gimli Hospital and City of Lost Children, that transport the viewer to a completely different world with its own unique set of rules. Everything seems to make complete sense once you've accepted the new laws of nature that govern the fantasy at hand. San Francisco's the Double U operates on the same premise. Their musical ambience is the ultimate in surreal, creating a darkly humorous world unlike anything you've ever imagined. Once you've accepted this completely engulfing environment, everything falls into place. From the outside looking in the instrumentation might be confounding, the melodies disorienting and the vocal juxtaposition between low-down gurgling and high pitched singing are just downright disturbing. But once acclimatised to the surroundings, the highly visual and expressive nature of the Double U takes hold. The scenery is very Old World, like an Eastern European band of travelling gypsies at the turn of the century on some other planet. Within that context we can find merrily lilting pop songs, high-energy chase scenes, lots of parties with carnival-like atmosphere, tentative moments of fear and disappointment along with plenty of knee-slapping jokes. Falling Lanterns is the band's third album and although it certainly exists on its very own axis, they do capture that other-worldliness and humour of the Residents, and benefits from the open-ended production of Greg Freeman, also known for his work with Thinking Fellers.