Named for a classic album by Funkadelic, the local funk-rock band Cosmic Slop carefully straddles the fine line—so carefully delineated in This Is Spinal Tap—between clever and stupid.
On its new CD, the band usually comes down on the clever side, its collective tongue firmly in cheek while paying homage to classic funk, cheesy-but-cool guitar-riffing and extended soloing, flights of dramatic keyboards and pre-AIDS sexual freedom. It's down-and-dirty nasty.
The band takes neither itself nor its audience too seriously. The anthem "Not a Groupie" features the chanted lines, "Don't stand there analyzing what we do / this could even be good for you," which might as well be a manifesto for the Cosmic Slop Nation.
There's something comfortably nostalgic about the old-school freakiness of the title track, a vocoder-infused paean to fellatio that singer Dondi "Sho Nuff' Nicety" admits is not politically correct. Nicety also talk-sings in a playfully leering tribute to George Clinton and Bootsy Collins, acknowledging that his sexual suggestions "could (have) some serious side effects," but promising his lady that he will do her no harm.
Proof of the band's potency, though, is in the music. Tracks such as "Naughty Nasty Nights," "Gotsta Do" and "Sloppy Seconds" are simply smoking. The guitar pyrotechnics of Jai "Kid Funkalicious" are meant to re-create those of Eddie Hazel, and much of the time, he succeeds at capturing that spirit of gonzo guitar-noodling.
This record feels so good while it lasts—but makes you want to wipe yourself off after the disc is over.
