Joe Kidd and the Gash

Imagine Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) and Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) collaborating with Les Claypool (Primus) and Jerry Seinfeld to make the ultimate Phish cover album. Twenty minutes into the first jam, Brian starts hallucinating, Les is dancing with a fish, Jello is shouting at the fish and Jerry keeps asking, "What is the deal with that?"

I don't know about you, but I would pay good money to see that in concert.

Joe Kidd and the Gash is an eclectic and energetic group drawing from the likes of California surf and indie rock to create a suprisingly palatable sound. There's a definite punk rock feel to the album, but the twanging guitar adds a tangy twist to the mixture.

This album has a subtle psychedelic quality to it, but nothing so in your face that you'd need to follow up with Vitamin C tablets. For all it's garage rock sheen, the album is actually pretty well crafted. Song placement is ideal, throwing in a few great instumentals to grab your attention and keep it long enough to get you through the few rough tracks - which, by the way, were only original versions of a few other great songs on the album.

All in all? I'd give this album a 7 out of 10, and a noteable mention.