One of the key tenets of punk rock was that technical skill wasn't as important as passion and the right idea -- you could be a lousy musician and still make great music. In this regard,
Mouth Congress
are as punk as
Ian MacKaye
,
Joe Strummer
, and
Black Flag
's merch dealer put together.
was the creation of
Scott Thompson
, the actor best known for his work on the iconic sketch comedy series The Kids in the Hall, and
Paul Bellini
, a writer who worked with
Thompson
on the show and is known to die-hard KITH fans for the "Touch Paul Bellini" contest.
Bellini
wanted to form a band, but had no aptitude for musical instruments. When a friend let him try out a drum machine, however, he started crafting crude tunes with surreal lyrics, with some more capable friends playing guitar and keyboards and
contributing vocals and lyrical improvisations. Over a period of several years,
and
recorded dozens of songs, mostly on a four-track cassette machine, and 2021's
Waiting for Henry
presents the presumed highlights from the
archives. Though
clearly aren't musicians, they're smart and funny and utterly unafraid of taking any idea and running with it. They're also gay, and most of the tunes on
deal with sex and queer culture in ways that are often hilarious and just as frequently purposefully offensive. Add in the fact that a few of these songs are lo-fi creations that suggest they were made up as
went along, and you get an album that plays like a blood brother to
the Frogs
'
It's Only Right and Natural
. Of course,
was created by two guys who are actually gay, unlike
Jimmy
Dennis Flemion
, and their over-the-top parodies of queer life are both gleefully rude satire meant to freak out the squares and consciously outrageous celebrations of a marginalized culture.
cheerfully dive into the deep end with songs like "Be My Hole" and "Guess I'll Just Jerk Off Again," while also sounding honestly angsty on "Why" and "Wind in My Belly," and summoning righteous anger on the reproductive rights anthem "The People Have Spoken." The music on
is informed by dance music more often than not, but their willingness to go too far creatively, their desire to challenge the listener with hard truths, and the sense of adventure inherent in these homebrewed experiments, make
Punk AF, and their blend of smarts, talent, and inspired amateurism makes this well worth investigating. ~ Mark Deming