Aquabats Myths, Legends & Other Amazing Adventures Vol. 2 CD

Myths, Legends... is a collection of B-sides, outtakes, and other sundry from the vaults of the Aquabats. Taken from over the space of three or more years, it's an odd mishmash of this and that. Some power pop tunes, some of the standard ska/pop-punk that the Aquabats started with. Plenty of silly songs, some of which goes far beyond some of the weirdness that the band has included on their albums. "Worms Make Dirt" is a synth-heavy bit of earthy weirdness, highlighted with keyboard playing little heard since Van Halen's 1984. "I Fell Asleep on My Arm" is their dead-on mockery of late-'90s aggro rap-metal, bad rapping included in the bridge and all. "Adventure Today" is one of the few recorded pieces of music based on The Goonies, of all things. As the liner notes posted on the Aquabats' website say, the song "...had other lyrics which, believe it or not, were stupider than these." After a spin of this entire record, one believes them. Yet for all the weirdness, oddballity, and the delighted sense of stupid that one gets from the songs, one is disappointed by their uneven quality. Some of these tracks are relatively poor, but more are enjoyable in spite of themselves. If nothing else, this release shows that the Aquabats are as capable with track editing and song inclusion as they are with making their silly songs. ~ Jeremy Salmon