With
the raw punk power (and the divine blessing) of the Ramones,
and the intellectual chops of They Might Be Giants, Germany’s
wax.on wax.off bring their high-wire nerdcore
balancing act to US shores at last, with their all-English
debut A Lecture on Geek Mythology. It’s a suburban
American portrait that could only be painted from the outside:
tales of soccer moms, high-school proms, and that ex-girlfriend
who split with your record collection. TMBG/David Byrne cover
artist Brian Dewan provides the album art.
wax.on wax.off flew over from Kiel Beach, Germany at the surviving
Ramones’ request in May 2002, paying tribute to Joey
as part of CBGB’s Bowery Electric Festival; everyone
in the room fell in love with their blend of manic three-chord
punk, quirky geek cheekiness and poppy polish, and we knew
they’d be back someday. A Lecture on Geek Mythology
proves that they’ve got us Yanks down pat: we’re
still trying to figure out how the hell they know what a “soccer
mom” is.
