Chomsky

Chomsky

Onward Quirky Soldiers (Idol) And then the army marched south. After solidifying North Texas under a tight, New Wave regime, Chomsky heads down to the capital, armed with the potent ammo of Onward Quirky Soldiers. Unlike Hannibal, there's no need for elephant-like gimmicks, although quirky generals from the past like XTC and Devo come to mind. In the end, the kicker is the pure Cicero-like oratory abilities displayed on "Straight Razor," "Gravitate," and the potent "00:15:00" (aka "Fifteen Minutes to Rock"), a piece of direct-hit artillery so powerful it could take over the nation's airwaves in a heartbeat. A one-hit wonder Chomsky is not, however, as the album's opening trio of songs have a near-perfect mix of hook and interlude. Sean Halleck's quiet refrain of "this is the good part, this is the good part" between rising crests of vocal harmony on "Inside" captures a rare frozen moment of musical nirvana that happens to be as sweet and accessible as a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Never mind that Quirky Soldiers suffers a visible drop-off toward the end, the casualties are successfully mitigated by a number of successful maneuvers on the way downfield. The loyal Chomsky Army is drooling over this offering, and their ranks are swelling by the day. Join them, why don't you?