Conchords' Latest Fails to Take Off

Flight of the Conchords
by Flight of the Conchords
Subpop, CD
April 22, 2008

Flight of the Conchords are supposed to be a hilarious band from New Zealand. Judging purely on the basis of their latest self-titled CD, I have to wonder where people have gotten the idea that band members Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement are comedians, as the only song I found remotely amusing was "Robots." The songs aren't bad, but they're definitely parodies more than stand-alone tunes. And since they're not laugh-out-loud funny, I have to wonder what I'm missing.

To back things up a bit, Flight of the Conchords is a folk/comedy band that has already won a Grammy Award for their first CD, The Distant Future. My experience with the Conchords is admittedly limited, as I don't have access to their HBO show (also named "Flight of the Conchords"), and have only seen clips of their TV performances and show thanks to YouTube.

When comparing the studio performance of their song, "Think About It," to the more spontaneous version featured in clips that can easily be found online, it seems to me that the Flight of the Conchords CD is really only something you'd want to buy if you were already a huge fan of the duo's schtick. Songs like "Hiphopopotamus Vs. Rhymenoceros" come off a bit lame in the studio, whereas the illusion of freestyling (and its resulting problems) seems more genuine--and funny--when performed live.

"Robots" is perhaps the only track that really works well as a studio piece, due to its accompanying beeps and bloops. The tune parodies a variety of synthesized music and robotic voices (including Stephen Hawking's), but the lyrics are hilarious in their own right. In "the distant future" (i.e. the year 2000), robots have taken over the world and explain their actions in the song. This is where the Conchords truly shine, as most of the rest of the tracks on the album force the listener to try to identify the songs being referenced, which doesn't lend itself to more than one spin through. "Robots" is funny enough to be listened to repeatedly, and is far more a stand-alone piece than the rest of their work.