Surfing

Megapuss

Vapor

Nov 01, 2008 Year End 2008 - Best of 2008 By Jim Scott

Megapuss is one bizarre decision after another. This shouldn’t surprise people who have followed Devendra Banhart’s career. Like a lot of Devendra Banhart’s solo work (okay, all of it), Surfing ranges from drop-dead gorgeous moments to moments that produce the desire to shove him off of a cliff

Between the marriage of Banhart, The Strokes’ Fabrizio Moretti, Priestbird’s Greg Rogove, and a stray comedian, Megapuss seems like some dream concocted in a hipster’s head. The presence of a comedian (Aziz Ansari, most famous for Human Giant) might explain the need for a song mostly about Trader Joe’s hummus, but it doesn’t make for good music. Nor does the strange decision to produce a note-for-note copy of the solo from Wham!’s “Careless Whisper” in “Adam and Steve.”

But Megapuss also produces tracks such as “Crop Circle Jerk ’94,” which, despite its ridiculous title, is an excellent song. Unfortunately, they are few and far between, the inside jokes don’t seem to have escaped the studio intact, and it mostly seems like a total throw-away. In fact, Megapuss seems like one bad decision after another. “Chicken Titz” anyone? Didn’t think so. (www.megapuss.net)

Author rating: 3/10