Ween - La Cucaracha (2008)

Review by Chris Wood

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Ween La Cucaracha Tracks 1. Fiesta 2. Blue Balloon 3. Friends 4. Object 5. Learnin' to Love 6. My Own Bare Hands 7. The Fruit Man 8. Spirit Walker 9. Shamemaker 10. Sweetheart in the Summer 11. Lullaby 12. Woman and Man 13. Your Party

Ween are without a doubt one the most fascinating bands of the last decade and a half. They have somehow managed to gather a relatively large and fiercely loyal fan base, whilst steering clear of the often dreaded mainstream success that compromises so many artists creative relevance.

Most importantly, they have managed to attribute all their career successes to sticking to a formula that could almost guarantee the instant demise of any other band. This formula is quite simple: play whatever you want...however you want to play it!!!

Now, when I say this formula is simple, it has its equal and opposing complexities. Both Gene and Dean Ween are extremely competent musicians. Over their career spanning eleven albums, they have squeezed out some pop-gems that would even make some of music’s most hardened rock-critics swoon like adoring teenage Jessica Simpson fans.

They have also managed some songs that would make the most controversial chauvinist cringe. However, Ween's success lies within this aura of unpredictability. Their ability to transcend so many musical genres and create new ones along the way is unparalleled, apart from those few who dare to dabble with Ween's creatively formulaic approach, most notably Beck, and Australia’s golden child Gotye.

When it comes down to Ween's most recent and highly anticipated LP "La Cucaracha", the aforementioned Ween formula at once makes its presence felt with the spirit of the almighty Boognish.

"La Cucaracha" kicks off with Fiesta, a catchy instrumental with its allegiances firmly placed within the album's Spanish theme. It really serves as an introduction, only promising what it's actually going to delivery. Although a damn catchy and extremely well put together tune, it also borders on wacky and mild-mannered mania. In my opinion this goes in the 'we played it cos we felt like playing it' category.

Blue Balloon is once again a typical Ween transcendentalist approach to a song. With its dreamy guitar chorus-pedal tones and fretless bass weaving in and out of consciousness, there are brief synth interjections that are reminiscent of a trumpet with a penchant for cheap heroin.

Friends once again begs the question whether or not both Dean and Gene are deliberately perpetuating a self-conceived myth of homosexuality. This idea very much picks up from where Boy's Club on "Shinola" left off. Although quite hilarious, it's also quite deplorable.

Object offers the first real departure for "La Cuaracha" with it's laid back moody Neil Young stylish approach. Despite the song focusing on a fundamentally flawed relationship; the narrator claiming 'You're just an object to me' and 'You are the meat / and I am the butcher', it manages to maintain it's integrity with Genes soothing lounge voice.

The first single Learin' to Love is a bona fide little pop-ditty that rocks till the cows come home (presumably they escaped, only to realise that it was a poorly organised operation given that they had nowhere to go).

My Own Bare Hands is over the top, yet one of the most memorable tracks on "La Cucaracha". If not for it's overtly confronting lyrical stylings, 'She's gonna be my c**k professor, studying my dick / she's gonna get her masters degree in f***ing me', the song would lose, dare I say it, a lot of it's charm.

Sweetheart in the Summer is exactly as the title implies. Following the Ween template for making a record, this is the best candidate for the track most likely to be embraced by any popular radio station. It's broad appeal and bubble-gum pop inclination (don't forget the lyrical content that isn't wholly objectionable) makes it the most commercially viable tune.

Closing track Your Party deals with one mans over-appreciative admiration of a friend’s party. All you have to do is imagine it being performed by Kenny G. 'There was candy and spices, and tri-coloured pastas'. Through similar observations we are gradually informed as to how this party became so fantastic in the eyes of the narrator (it's important to note here, that if wearing a turtle neck while singing were to have a distinctive sound, this would be it).

To poorly quote a review I read about Ween's "White Pepper", 'This album will please existing Ween fans, but is unlikely to convert the unenlightened'. That sentiment is just as applicable today as it was five years ago. "La Cucaracha" is no more capable of carving out a new fan base than any other of their albums. Having said that, it is consistent with said back catalogue, prompting me leave you with an apt, two word summation of "La Cuaracha" to close:

Freaking-awesome!

RATING: 4 out of 5

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