cover image As Smart as We Are [With CD]

As Smart as We Are [With CD]

. Soft Skull Press, $19.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-932360-42-4

Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp, a pair of musicians with a penchant for eccentric music and truly eclectic instrumentation, are the driving force behind this album, featuring lyrics by 17 established writers, including Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster and Neil Gaiman. Infused with theremin loops and klezmer tonalities, the music sounds like it's being cranked out of a hurdy-gurdy by a carnival freak. Or perhaps like a cross between They Might Be Giants and the Squirrel Nut Zippers at their most difficult. In short, it's not for everyone. But there are times, as in Auster's ""Natty Man Blues,"" when the approach comes together without being overbearing. Denis Johnson's Southern-fried ""Blessings"" features pointedly ironic lyrics like, ""Bless now/ The cancer of the bone, the last light making/ Beautiful the poisons in the sky."" Myla Goldberg has a bit more fun, with Syd Straw crooning lines like, ""When you're made of clay/ Just avoid the rainy days."" As Fiona Maazel, who writes excellent, jaunty commentaries for each song, muses about Jonathan Lethem's ""Water"": ""As smart as we are, we have no idea what this song is about."" Listeners will find that thought a familiar refrain.