the art of silly alt-pop

Oomalama (Atlantic)

Eugenius

By Kory Wilcoxson

They were Captain America before a suit from Marvel Comics forced a switch in names. They are now Eugenius, named after singer Eugene Kelly. Call them what you want, there's no escape from their music.

Oomalama is mostly silly fun, as the title would indicate. There's nothing serious on here, from the plastic cow on the cover to any of the wonderful tracks.

The opening song, "Oomalama," is hardly a lesson in provocative lyrics, the only other words besides the chanting of the title being "I am alive and I feel good." But, honestly, what else could you ask for?

It almost seems a crime that Eugenius' music is trapped within a cassette player. The songs sound much bigger than they are allowed to be on a recording, and a live show would no doubt reinforce the quality on here.

Oomalama is filled with edgeless guitar and a lightweight lyrical agenda that makes it enjoyable to listen to with assaulting the senses. Each song is quite infectious and impossible not to hum 15 minutes later.

Check out Oomalama and you'll see why, although they aren't Captain America anymore, they're still super heroes of alternative pop.