With this self-titled release, Shut-Ups bandmates Don Condescending and Jason NeSmith have perpetrated an unique amalgam of silly pop fare. I think that the music here is quite clever, witty and inspired -- but to be honest, I also find it to be more than mildly annoying!

The opening "Go Daddy Go (Get Real Old)" is a great example of what you'll find here. With vocals stylings that could, in an alternate universe, imply a pubescent version of The Chipmunks, the song mixes super guitar pop sensibilities with quirky lyrics like "Take the wrinkles from your soul and apply them to your face (age Mommy age!)". The song clocks in at a concise 55 seconds. "Do the Don't" starts out with the line "This is the song to end all songs and, Ladies and Gentlemen, it has just begun!" It continues with a distinct '80s pop flavor, perhaps recalling something by Fine Young Cannibals. Clearly "doing the don't" is some sort of newfangled teen sensation ("You put your whole self here and leave it there!"). "I'm Still Living at Home" tells the story of a twenty-something live-at-homer in the style of The Beach Boys' "In My Room" -- a clever retake on the "my room is my castle" theme to be sure, but just the slightest bit disturbing all the same. "Richard Hell" is a perky paean to the punk icon: "Richard Hell, when you were a punk star, I was only five years old!" Musically, it's in the spirit of something from The White Album, or maybe Elvis Costello.

I could go on, but I won't. Song titles like "I Think I'm Dumb", "My Brother Gets All the Girls" and "I Need a Motivator" will surely help you generate a mental picture of the type of music The Shut-Ups deal in. At the beginning of this review I mentioned silly pop. Imagine Nerf Herder with the punk notched down to nothing and the pop ratcheted up to eleven. Is it brilliant? Yeah! Is it annoying? Heck yeah! Is it meant to be that way? I think so.