Okay, one might be forgiven for being a bit suspicious of this CD: it raises joke-rock flags in a not unvigorous fashion. The band members deck themselves out in orange jumpsuits for some reason, like prisoners or the custodial staff in a toxic-waste processing facility. The chorus of "Alcoholic" runs "I hought that you loved me, but you were just an alcoholic," and "Lazyboy Chair" features a line about "a gastroenterologist who meets a bad end" (yerk...). And it's true that these guys (three, and one girl) do have a collective sense of humor. So what redeems a joke-rock record? The trickiest part is this: you can't take yourself too seriously (obviously), but you also can't treat the music as too much of a joke - otherwise, you should just be a stand-up comedian. It also helps if you're not joking all the time - and while we certainly should not expect a Peter Gabriel level of seriousness here, it's also true that Feckless Beast aren't just the Dead Milkmen. Sure, we can chuckle at "Alcoholic" (if that's not too politically incorrect), but the poor guy in the song is turning into one himself trying to win that drunk girl's love. And "Forlorn" manages the neat trick of not sounding at all like the weepy stereotype of its title...while the lyrics (which do) are all the more potent for that fact. And the guy in "Typecast" is downright desperate. Hmm...maybe this joke isn't so funny after all. So what about that music? For the most part, this Beast kicks up a scratchy and energetic indie-guitar mess, with moments suggesting a love for harder, rawkin' guitaring. For instance, the band's cover of Game Theory's "Don't Entertain Me Twice" instructively crossbreeds composer Scott Miller's warped, angular blues construction (very unusual for Miller) with a Peter Gunn-like guitar riff that propels the song in a manner more carnivorous than Game Theory's reptilian original, while the track's squalling guitar solo suggests a mutant crossbreed best dubbed Duane Eddy Van Halen. "Every 6 Months" begins with some mad-dog syncopated picking and a slashing rhythm attack on the offbeats, while the double-tracked, wah-wah solo on "Every 6 Months" reveals a youth misspent with seventies guitar solos. "Lazyboy Chair" incorporates a snarly, near Whitfield/Strong wah-wah rhythm, which the band melds gracefully with the more skinny-tie -sporting feel of the rest of the track. Feckless Beast's weakest point is its vocals: although it has two main singers, their tones don't contrast in any particularly telling way (and they're occasionally pitch-challenged). Both are effective in snide wise-guy mode, but are less effective when trying to sing a bit straighter and more melodically - which undercuts the lyrics in a way that sells them a bit shorter than they deserve. However, "Movie Doggerel" effectively marshals both vocalists and features guest singer Julia Goodwin (from the Spontanes) with brilliantly placed, Gang of Four -like spoken interjections. The vocal problems, then, seem less a matter of skill than of arrangement and the singers' learning how to use what they've got. All in all, a promising debut - and no joke.