"Experimental" applied as a musical label often politely masks other equally appropriate words -- for instance, "half-baked", "ill-considered" or simply "bad". Twenty-two cheers, then, that these nearly two dozen tracks from Need New Body actually experiment -- with sound, with form, with the linguistic construct of what a "song" can or cannot be -- and succeed brilliantly. Like Kraftwerk on a Tilt-A-Whirl, NNB spew out dizzying electro-tinged grooves that shift and mutate with an abrupt dexterity. The resulting tracks fling themselves forward, restlessly searching for the next surprising effect.

NNB spring from the highly praised North Jersey/Philadelphia combo Bent Leg Fatima, three quarters of whose members, working with a slew of other like-minded musicians, have advanced their former psychedelic tendencies into new rhythmic territory. Although no one will mistake them for George Clinton, rhythm is king in this guitar-free zone; everything from pots and pans to cowbells and synthesizers join the drum kit to lay down a wickedly complex foundation of herky-jerky beats. Free-jazz horns, electronic effects, backward vocals, keyboards and, on one track, a sitar run with, through, and around the propulsive percussion.

Humor separates NNB from some of their more self-serious experimental peers, with musical effects and occasional vocals provoking laughter, as well as admiration at the band's light touch. "20$sh" (the song names are uniformly nonsensical) tells a paranoid tale similar in tone and accompaniment to, but much funnier than, Tom Waits' sparely creepy "What's He Building in There?". Drummer/percussionist Chris Powell described the song "Boba Fett" (named after the bounty hunter from the Star Wars films) to the Philadelphia City Paper as being "about how scared you'd be if you were in the woods and you didn't know where you were and you knew Boba Fett was chasing you."

Reflecting an electronica-influenced world view, but filtering that genre's cut-and-paste aesthetic through a quirky, personality-rich live band, NNB sink themselves into you slowly. Like any other disorienting experience, the band wreaks havoc on your inner ear, necessitating a brief adjustment period. The album gets stronger as it goes along, luckily, so by the time you get it, it's ready to get you.