The Wipeouters: P'Twaaang!!!

Casual Tonalities Records

Devo bros Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh raid again, this time in the surf band of their youth, the mighty (if fictional) Wipeouters. A stale rehash of the Ventures this is not; it's a very fresh rehash of the Ventures, updated with modern beats, modern musical instruments, and a very strange sense of humor. To be expected, of course—these are the genii behind “Mongoloid” and “Be Stiff,” after all.

Absurdist humor reigns supreme in the combination of sinister spy-theme guitar and tranqued-out synth work in “Dangerdog,” in the atonal Afro-Martian lounge lizard vibe of “Surf's Up on Goon Island,” and in the electronic faux-Sufi/hip-hop grooves of “Wounded Surfer.” The twisting of genre clichés is relentless, and it helps make P'Twaaang!!! a remarkable odd, remarkably fun record.

—John Pecorelli

Alternative Press magazine