Vidi Vitties are one of many great groups that seem to be appearing on Mother West these days. Their self-titled debut, along with their presence in the film Polyp And Corbin Take Over, show a highly individualistic band willing to be funny, psychedelic and political, as evidenced through the lovely education-system-sucks-song, "Soap And Water".

For me, the humorous songs are most wonderful, especially "Hello Mosquito" ("Another mosquito's life is gone/Such is the scale of things/No one went to jail for it"). While some bands settle for raising just a smile, Vidi Vitties take this and most of the songs through Grateful Dead territory, and, if you're a bit like me, the lazy swirls of the guitars will have you pondering these silly rants far more than you'll want to admit.

Most of the political asides veer far to the left, which is fine, but it's hopeful that the band's future work will take on more interesting targets than big corporations of a financial or religious nature (as in their songs "Flipper" and "Last Week's Recording"). Perhaps following the Clash's example might do them well, allowing them to begin attacking subjects few non-Chomskyites or NPR-heads are familiar with. Still, even if the Vidi Vitties don't change much, what remains is an exciting new band with a great sound that displays earnest affection for both past and present-day pop.