Carol Cleveland Sings! is a trio of three guys -- none of whom are named Carol Cleveland (Carol Cleveland was the female member of Monty Python; she usually appeared when they needed an attractive woman as opposed to a man in drag -- Ed.) -- and a dog named Deerhead who provides vocals. They pull in as many odd instruments as they can find and sound like a cross between a Stephin Merritt project and Atom and His Package. The songs have the silly, cerebral sexual wordplay and "moon in June" rhymes favored by Merritt, and at least a part of his brain. Take "Northampton" (sung in a bass almost as low as Merritt's "I Don't Wanna Get Over You") as an example: "I'm going to Northampton / and I'm going to get mad / by something my aunt told me and something done by my dad".

The songs are quick rips; most fall in the one or two minute range, and the longest is 3:14. They center on cheap '80s style synth, but take every imaginable detour into Weirdville. "Fisherman's Daughter" is the kind of song my boyfriend invents on the fly to please the dog, and "Finals" is sung on the influence of helium, accompanied by ukulele and a pooch's faint bark. As ideas are stressed over the melodies here, and all the ideas are interesting, it's hard to pick a favorite; it's safer to say that I won't forget any part of Europa! for at least a week. I'd rather leave my praise muted, as it's evident that the trio works hard to sound "different" or "silly". Atom Goyen is also willing to write fairly straightforward tributes to friends, but this band seems overly worried by the thought of capturing normality for even a moment.