Fred Schneider & the Superions – The Vertical Mind (LP / CD)

Since their christmas record a couple of years back, pop dadaists Fred Schneider & The Superions have been roaming through their apartment, looking for the next party. Fred writes the words and sings the songs. Noah and Dan make the music.

Blame it on the wine. Blame it on Orlando, Florida. The Superions go where no one else dares to go—into the silly, the ridiculous, the fun, the insane. Surely someone must have already written a song urging people to wake up and dance called ‘Sleeping Booty’? They haven’t? Sounds like a job for The Superions.

Lead single ‘Konnichiwa’ reworks ‘It’s A Small World’ for a new century, Schneider singing hello in 12 different languages and couldn’t we all use a little international friendliness. Note: it’s rumored that in some school districts, listening to it for an entire hour is enough to earn a student three credits towards graduation.

Song after glorious song. There’s the disco frenzy of ‘Glitter Gulch,’ a love letter to a famous Las Vegas strip club that, in the wake of its closing this summer, is as much elegy as a tribute. Songs about foreign meatballs and songs about kissing (two songs about kissing!). Songs about airport strip searches (‘punk, don’t touch my junk’) and songs about petting zoo stampedes. And then there’s ‘When The Dingoes Ate The Babies.’

“The Vertical Mind” is timeless music, uninhibited, unaffected by trends. It’s the sound of three people doing exactly what they want. And in an age when everyone seems to be self-consciously looking over their shoulder all the time—afraid to look silly, afraid to sound dumb—it may be exactly what we need right now.