A lifetime ago (in the 1990s) Friendly Rich Marsella wrote the music accompanying the chaos that was the Tom Green show. Since then, he has plied the seas of near-music in search of friendly shores. And now, with a composition that presents the calls of 76 fictional birds within the context of a calliope, he might have just found the perfect way to appreciate and (possibly) understand his music.

Friendly Rich The Birds of Marsville (We Are Busy Bodies)

The piece is presented as two sides of vinyl (and yes, you can buy an LP!), with the calls rolling out every thirty seconds or so. Rich has enlisted a crack chamber orchestra that not only finds a unique song for each bird but also preserves the otherworldly feel of this completely wacky project.

When going with something this high concept, commitment to the bit is paramount. Rich even includes an "explanatory" introduction for those who might otherwise be confused about what is happening. This is not noise or incoherent tooting. The calls are fun, and the interstitials keep the entire project lurching along with aplomb.

The overall weirdness level is off the charts. An unschooled listener might not identify this as a series of replicated bird calls but rather the backing track for a particularly unhinged cartoon. Certainly, Rich has some experience in that area. No matter what, though, he has delivered the strangest (yet immensely satisfying) album that I've encountered this year. Wide-eyed, manic and simply wonderful.

Jon Worley