Are you old enough to remember Camper Van Beethoven during their heyday? Do you remember hearing "Take the Skinheads Bowling" on college radio back when it was new? Do you think a violin is an essential instrument for any good indie-rock band?

If so, you've probably already purchased your copy of Camper Van Beethoven is Dead. Long Live Camper Van Beethoven. So this review is for everyone else.

Funny thing about music: if you leave it sit for long enough, it starts to ferment. Bits of songs swirl around and mix together, the rhythm from one imprinting itself backwards onto the next track. That's what's happened here, though cynics might suggest that the band had a hand in the aging. To the uninformed eye, this might look like a bog-standard B-Sides and obscurities album, but it isn't. Much of it is a series of Frankenstein-eque monster-mashes made from backward bits of songs, errant drum-tracks and ex post facto lyrics, with the blank spots filled in as needed. It's a little bit of everything -- an orchestral take on "All Her Favorite Fruit," an idiosyncratic array of cover tunes condensed into "S.P. 37957 Medley", skewed pop gems like "Tom Flower's 1500 Valves" and "We're All Wasted and We're Wasting All Your Time". CvB's trademark Eastern European leanings are on plentiful display; they're in their finest form on "Balalaika Gap" and even receive cursory "dance mix" modification for "Stayin' At Home With the Girls in the Morning (Vienna Club Mix)".

If you're not familiar with Camper van Beethoven, CvB is Dead... is not a good starting point, consisting as it does primarily of apocrypha. I encourage you to buy a few Camper van Beethoven albums. Listen to them. Appreciate them like wine. Then, if you want to, return to CvB is Dead.... You'll like it far more. It's a record for fans -- not necessarily fanatical fans, but people who understand the sort of expectations CvB inspires. It's nostalgia, with a twist. And under those circumstances, it's quite a treat.