East Coast Super Sound Punk of Today!

They Say...

Review by Peter J. D'Angelo, All Music Guide

Describing the World Inferno Friendship Society isn't easy. In fact, it's damn near impossible. The band has members stretching into the double digits and styles that reach into the outer limits of space. Like a twisted vaudeville version of normal rock & roll, the group dabbles with waltzing progressions, unexpected song structures, and difficult-to-make-sense-of lyrics. East Coast Super Sound Punk of Today! is no different from any of the other material in their twisted catalogue, and it isn't uncommon for a rollicking number to dissolve into a banjo-powered breakdown before returning with even more bounce than before. There's a bit of a swing feel at some points on the record, but this is far from the revival sounds of groups like the Squirrel Nut Zippers; it instead tends more toward the sound of a circus barker outside the freak-show tent. Whether crooning about tattoos or the idea of running Dante Alighieri for president, there is rarely a dull moment in the stomping grooves and obscure humor of the band. Songs like "All of California and Everyone Who Lives in It Stinks" could succeed on title alone, but the multi-instrumentalists and tendency toward group vocals gives the record an even stronger presence, and even when the songs stop making sense, it's hard to not keep listening just to see what happens next. World Inferno is by no means an average rock band, but they are certainly a fresh change of a group and their musical philosophy is so weird that it demands to be experienced.