Mink Lungs - The Better Button (Arena Rock Recording Co, 2001)

Mink Lungs
The Better Button
Arena Rock Recording Co
2001

Rating: 6 ferret briefcases out of 10

Sometimes, the thing that makes a band a good listen ends up being the same thing that brings them down. In the case of Mink Lungs, this would be trying to make a niche for themselves in the world of quirky lo-fi indie pop. For me, the president of this group has always been Guided By Voices, with Neutral Milk Hotel as the vice president and the rest of the Elephant Six roster filling in as the cabinet. And as of right now, Mink Lungs might have a seat in the senate, but it’s going to take a bit more for them to get that big nomination to secretary of the interior.

Mink Lungs hail from current hotspot Brooklyn, NYC, and their debut CD, ‘The Better Button’, certainly has it’s entertaining moments; and to be honest, there are probably more bright spots than dull ones on the album. But the low spots are of the kind that you find yourself reaching for the ‘track skip’ button from time to time. The overall sound of the album is very reminiscent to early GBV, with it’s lo-fi feel and love of pop hooks. It blends this with the zany lyrics and noisy bits that might be at home on a Frank Zappa record (not to say Robert Pollard from GBV doesn’t have some pretty crazy lyrics himself). For me, the best points on the record are when these two worlds meet, and you have a catchy, quirky, noisy mess all rapped up in a short pop song. Unfortunately, the weirdness can sometimes overwhelm all other aspects of the song to the point that it’s all you notice. And while this might be interesting for the first couple of listens, they end up wearing on your patience in the long run. One example might be with the song ‘Watch Yourself’, one of the catchiest numbers on the record, only the track ends with a one or two minute answering machine message about some girl calling to say she ‘just wants to be friends’. I’m not saying there isn’t a point to the madness, only that it wears thin quickly.

To carry this tired joke further, ‘The Better Button’ represents a strong first draft of an amendment from the junior senator out of New York, and could be the beginning of a bright career. Or they could just pull a Ted Kennedy and get shitty drunk all the time and sit around with a bright red glowing face. Either way, it could be entertaining.