King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis
s/t

Coming off like the They Might Be Giants of Exotica, King Kukulele and company are without peer both in style and subject. This album is so strange, yet oddly entertaining and extremely addicting.

The record opens with an introduction to the Friki Tikis, a cast of characters that take their music quite seriously amid topics that range from the joy of throwing a luau with an storm approaching (“Gonna Have A Luau”) to a shout-out to all varieties of “Fish, Fruits & Nuts.”

The catchiest song on the record is “Otto’s Odyssey” a Homer-esque tale of a Tiki trip across the nation touching on almost every exotic location in America. The song name drops just about every Tiki hero amidst a sea of vibraphones, upright bass thumps and Kukulele’s awesome ukulele action.

Sure the record comes off a little kitsch on first listen, but the King’s use of catchy rhymes and a fantastic all-star exotica backing band make this record a frequent visitor to the Bungalo CD player.

Reviewed by: George Koroneos
Reviewed on: January 18, 2005