Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
Not their best, but far from the worst at 2003-12-30
As a long time (ten years now) fan of the lizards I have to say that Strange Noises is a continuation of what makes them the funniest band around. The title track is a tango that plays to every mans fear when it concerns ex-lovers. We only fight continues Conrads series of drinking songs with the added twist of a female duet.Suzie Rosens Nose is another Emily Kaitz gem. Although musically it reminds me of illusion travels by stock carWhy cant we Blow up Saddam is cute, but now no longer relevent. So Sad. Phill and Jessie is another slam (deservedly IMO) at some republican politicians.There is a lot to like here and I would love to know the origin of Merchants Lunch and Bannana Slugs.
Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
The Lizards keep getting better at 2003-10-23
This CD is a bit of a departure from their earlier work. A bit more country, a bit less bluegrass. There are some unfamiliar vocals on the CD. There is more percussion than the usual studio venture. That said, the Lizards still combine first rate musicianship with sharp political and social wit. Jesse and Phil had me stitches during the evening commute. Hope they can make it to Albuquerque sometime soon.
Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
Fairly disappointing at 2004-04-18
As one who fancies himself a listener of music that is so far out of the mainstream that its not even in the 100 year flood plain, I was excited when I received a copy of the Austin Lounge Lizards latest disc, Strange Noises in the Dark. Although Id never actually heard the band before, I knew them from their reputation, hearing of them from various acquaintances over the years. Slipping in the disc and listening with eager anticipation I heard many things that Im sure the band would be noted for. I heard a band with a tight sound that featured some great solo work by Eamon McLoughlin on the violin. His stinging style and rich tones clearly stood out on the title track and on Susie Rosens Nose. I also heard some inventive banjo and dobro work by Tom Pittman. I heard a tasty arrangement of the original instrumental entitled Snopes Glory; not flashy, but having a smooth expression and a tune that stuck in my cranium. I heard some creative rhythms on the title track, some thumpin country featuring the fine vocals of singer Kelley Willis on We Always Fight.., and some genuinely funny lyrics in Tastes Like Chicken. I enjoyed the accents and creative voice arrangements on The Lonely Yodeler, Nose, and Windows. But overall, I found the album fairly disappointing. A band may target a particular group with their work, and I felt I really wasnt anywhere near the bands crosshairs. The high school crowd would probably find this stuff really funny. Songs for the sophomoric. Unfortunately, the lyrics represent in large part the society we are becoming: classless, debased, and singing about it song after sordid song. Heres part of the lineup: A song about a guy who cant sleep because he hears his ex having sex in the next apartment night after night; a song about a peeping window washer who describes his sights in more detail than I need; a song from a childs point of view about his Moms affairs while Dad is away, producing brothers and sisters for him. Depressing stuff. Nearly all the songs have the same corrupted bent. And political schlock is fine in small doses, but a little goes along way. Here we get it in three offerings. The material becomes dated quickly, having a half life similar to that of a cold beer on a hot day. This band could be a lot better by building on their fine musicianship, reducing the tasteless lyrics, and coming up with some more funny material.
Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
Its sure to tickle your crazy bone. at 2004-01-21
Arf Arf! The Lizards have really outdone themselves. The fourteen tracks on their well-produced Strange Noises in the Dark show their influences (and ability to proficiently play) in the stylistic genres of Latin, western swing, Klezmer, bluegrass, folk, classic country, Gypsy jazz, rock, and even Bavarian yodel music. Bob Wills meet Frank Zappa! The ninth album from the most laughable band in show business is a guaranteed mirthquake.For a little historical perspective, Hank Card and Conrad Deisler began writing songs together in 1976 when both were students at Princeton. The Austin Lounge Lizards originally formed in 1980 after the pair moved to Austin (to attend Univ. of Texas law school) and hooked up with banjo and dobro-player Tom Pittman. They began playing small clubs, and then won the 1983 Kerrville Bluegrass Festival band contest. They began touring nationally in 1987. Over the years of recording and touring, theyve built a slew of fans who enjoy their wacky weirdness built largely upon satire and parody. Dr. Demento meets Bill Monroe. Appearance on NPRs Morning Edition have launched them to even greater heights. The Lizards will also make a showing on television in Mostly True Stories - Urban Legends Revealed on The Learning Channel. Their segment covers the Saguaro Legend about a guy who goes to the desert to shoot saguaro cacti until one falls and kills him. Honored as Best None of the Above Band, on several occasions by the Austin Chronicle Readers Poll, the Lizards have also won Band of the Year award at the Kerrville Music Awards three times since 1994. Where does guitarist Hank Card find the time to work as a part-time administrative law judge part-time for the State of Texas?On Strangers in the Night, one can find songs about singing bedsprings, fighting, drinking gin, getting a nose job, eating dog food, blossoming love between former Senators Jesse Helms and Phil Gramm, and blowing up Saddam. The band is still in fine form, and this disc will keep you in stitches. With their off-beat humor and first-rate musicianship, the Lizards dish up the laughs. Besides their own original material, they draw repertoire from the pens of likes of Emily Kaitz, Tom Paxton, Mike Craver, Mark Graham and others. A favorite is the full bands collaborative effort, Tastes Like Chicken, with its mouthful of food items. A bluegrassy instrumental, Snopes Glory, breaks up the set. The theme of The Miracle Baby, written by Dreisler and Card, reminded me of a favorite song of mine, Bennies From Heaven. Tom, Hank and Conrad are joined by Boo Resnick (bass, oboe, tambourine) and Eamon McLoughlin (violin, viola, mandolin). The eight guest artists who appear on Strange Noises in the Dark add accordion, pedal steel, percussion, tuba, vocals, and even an Oy Vey chorus on Susie Rosens Nose. Vocalist Kelly Willis does a particularly fine job in the country duet, We Always Fight When We Drink Gin. Its nice to hear them cover the Red Clay Ramblers classic Merchants Lunch, that was a hit for them about three decades ago. I also enjoyed Eamons British brogue on the George Formby classic, When Im Cleanin Windows. Its incredible that the University of California Banana Slugs had no fight song....but thats all changed now, thanks to the Austin Lounge Lizards. In the mood to cop a few laughs? Throw Strange Noises onto your disc player and crack your pan. Its sure to tickle your crazy bone. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
Die laughing... at 2001-03-31
You know, any album with songs called Rasputins HMO and 40 years and old and living in Moms garage has got to be good! These guys dont disapoint! I had heard a lot about them, and I checked out this release first and was pretty thrilled. Its probably the funniest album Ive ever heard, and stands up to repeat listenings because the songs are so smart and well crafted. If you like Bad Livers, Lyle Lovett, or even Ween, youll probably enjoy this disc
Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
Lyrics Lead to Laughs in Lounge Lizards Latest Lollapalooza! at 2000-09-13
OK, maybe my title alliteration is needlessly repetitive and self-indulgent, but I was inspired. In Never An Adult Moment, the hilariously clever new release from the Austin Lounge Lizards, lyrics lead both to laughs and great songs, supported by the Lizards typically excellent arrangements, harmony vocals, and pickin. The CD opens with The Grunge Song, a Pearl Jam sendup (Im guessing..not too familiar with current rock) that includes quiet parts, loud parts, even louder parts, and the obligatory solo, which is, (you guessed) needlessly repetitive and self-indulgent.The cover shows the band in a classroom with banjoist Tom Pittman writing I will not make fun of the President on the chalkboard. From the middle school perspective we get 80 Hillbillies in a Haunted House, the Lizards tribute to that sing-on-the-bus number, 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. In this one we count the hillbillies down from 80 (81 if you count Bucks half-dead spouse) down to 1 as they are killed in various gruesome ways (rats, giant moths, flying knives, etc.) from the time they started playing Billy Billy Billy Bayou on their fiddles until the last victims turned to stone while watching I Married Joan. In a final twist, when only one hillbilly remains, their numbers increase. Youll have to listen to learn how. (Theres a rhyme for population that some day I will have to explain to my seven year old.)As in the classic, The Golden Triangle, the band finds every possible rhyme for garage in the third cut, 40 Years Old and Im Living In My Moms Garage, a song about an underemployed artist. He dreams of becoming the Duke of Decoupage with a limo for every one of his sycophantic entourage. Try finding that phrase in any other lyric, bluegrass or otherwise.Rasputins HMO is next. The historical figure seeks treatment in managed care (or h*ll? Motto: Abandon hope all ye who enter here), where he is told (as the blood was all around me until I could hardly see) your plan sir doesnt cover any ophthamology. Tom Pittmans bass voice works perfectly as the downtrodden mad monk.The next three songs are among the Lizards best ever. 100 Miles of Dry tells of Hank Cards frustrating search for a beer in the dry counties of East Texas. If youve ever been to such places, youll cry with laughter. His conclusion about the laws made in our Lords holy name--if you ask me thats carrying democracy too far!Following 100 Miles of Dry is Big Rio Grande River, a song with more puns than any song written by the Lizards or anyone else. In their live in-person show, Hank and the Lizards explain how the song is the end result of an ongoing multiyear search to find and collect repetitive and redundant phrases like ones such as Big Rio Grande River (Rio Grande, of course, is a Spanish phrase for Big River.), and then knit them together into one single song. The song features bassist Boo Resnick (a wealthy billionaire by the second verse), lovely Linda (whose brilliance brightens Boos world), and the Great Cabrito Kid, the one lone mounted horseman who steals food (cheese quesadillas), beer and girl from Boo during a picnic lunch outside (by sunrise it dawns on Boo where Linda has gone). The Kids song Big Rio Grande River goes on forever endless in Boos head. The comedic spirit is enhanced by the unexpected presence of a button accordion.Next, as in Leonard Cohens Day Job and Truckload of Art, the Lizards juxtapose the artistic and workaday worlds in The Illusion Travels by Stock Car (Petty/Bunuel), the story of celebrated Spanish surrealistic filmmaker Luis Bunuels filming of the story of the original stock car superstar (and, we are led to believe, Carolinas biggest fan of surrealistic cinema) Richard Petty. Surrealism and puns follow, my favorite (perhaps of the whole CD) being one day Bunuel becomes enraged and drives off in a Snit...his tiny Spanish car, and hes mighty proud of it. At the end we learn that driving fast and turning left are realistically all one ever does. Apparently, the Lizards liked the accordion on Rio Grande, so they put some more on this one to good effect.Eighth is a delightful contribution from new Lizard, Lex Browning. He wrote and sings Big Ol Bone (and plays strings on this and several others). Brownings James Taylor-like voice fits this whimsical tale of a guy who goes to buy his dog a big ol bone. The dog runs off with a poodle floozie. The guys girl is sharing her soup pot with another guy. Finding out what am I gonna do with this big ol bone? is a lot of fun.Song nine, sung by Conrad, comes from todays headlines. The Me I Used To Be tells about a damn day trader who thought he was a corporate raider til the market crashed. Now hes flippin burgers for the clown and not that unhappy about it. This ones not quite up to what precedes it or Conrads recent efforts (Love in a Refrigerator Box and Rocky Byways from Employee of the Month come to mind.)The next song, penned by Hank and wife Kristen, will make anyone with an out-of-warranty vehicle howl. The call in Waitin for a Call From Don is from Hanks auto mechanic, Don, with news of what the damage will be. Along the way Hank sacrifices a chicken, barters a date with his daughter for a new steering wheel, but suffers with no A/C rather than sell his soul. The most identifiable predicament in whole CD, this song is a scream.About once every decade, the Lizards include a song that is almost sweet and sincere. Cornhusker Refugee, about a gay Nebraskan in San Francisco, came along semi-poignantly in the 80s. Their latest bittersweet number is sung by departing Lizard Richard Bowden, who tired of touring after nine years with the band. The Beautiful Waitress tells the story of a lunch regular on his last time...passin through and his love for the beautiful waitress. Whimsy (as a edible cracker) plays a key role in the song.The twelfth and last title is Asheville/Crashville. Its a satirical jingle for western North Carolina city. Understanding the references is aided if youve visited the region. Like The Me I Used To Be, its an OK song with some good lines (I Swannanoa where Im gonna spend the night) but it falls short of the rest of the CD.Hang in there for Track 14, if you dare (superstitiously, 13 is blank). Its a little like Momma Dont Allow... from Employee... without the polish. It reminded me of those outtake scenes sometimes included at the end of movie comedies. I dont listen to it every time through.All in all, Never An Adult Moment is yet another famous, fearless, fabulous and flamboyant production by the famous, fearless, fabulous and flamboyant ones themselves, the inimitable Austin Lounge Lizards.
Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
FUNNY Stuff! (a short review) at 2004-02-17
WARNING: these songs are catchy and will stick in your head! You will sing them in the shower and your family will think you have gone mad! I found this CD in the trash. Amazing what people will throw out these days! NOT a Bluegrass fan--progresive or otherwise--but I sure enjoyed the clever lyrics on this CD. Easy to listen to and gets funnier with each playing. Top notch musicians. Funny, funny stuff! Note to self: must stop dumpster diving, must buy Lizard CDs.

Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
Lizards Forever at 1999-10-26
I love this CD because its funny and witty. I can only say one thing, buy it.
Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
The funniest thing Ive ever heard at 1999-08-20
Id give this cd a 6 if I could. It is halarious! Its great for the whole family. It was the only thing we listened to in the car for a looooooong time


Austin Lounge Lizards Album Editorial:
The Austin Lounge Lizards--so named as to distinguish them from New Yorks Lounge Lizards and Chicagos Jesus Lizard not to mention reptilian lounge denizens from everywhere else--has carved its own niche by penning satiric country/bluegrass songs that compensate for the oft-strained vocals with a venomous wit and deceptively adept musicianship. Take for example Stupid Texas Song which skewers the Lone Star states outsized pride in all things Texan with lines like Our rattlesnakes are the coiliest/Our beaches are the oiliest. Like most comedy albums not everything here holds up to repeat listens. Still its hard to begrudge a band that can rewrite the Beach Boys Shut Down as Hey Little Minivan for soccer moms; visualize the worlds drollest grease monkey in Leonard Cohens Day Job; and keep a straight face on a barstool weeper called The Dogs They Really Miss You. Rick Mitchellyes

Austin Lounge Lizards Album Review:
If they didnt exist wed be poorer for it... at 2002-07-26
Friends put me onto this group a couple years ago.. If you ever liked Firesign Theatre then these folks will give you a warm bozo glow.. TEENAGE IMMIGRANT WELFARE MOTHERS ON DRUGS, followed by a pseudo-seachanty GINGRICH THE NEWT will wind your alarm clock and make you say hey!!! there is something going on here!!!.Be advised.. not for the faint of heart politically..