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.


wax.on wax.off links