Localized Little Fyodor

Little Fyodor is either completely insane or a total genius—but there's almost nothing that can be gleaned from one listen of his latest release, Peace Is Boring, that points his weirdness in either direction. Fyodor subscribes to an irreverent, punk-like songwriting method, sneering and whining with abandon; and while Peace isn't a punk album itself, it is a decent glimpse into the brain of this left-of-center character. It's a schizophrenic record, jumping from jazz to country to Pavement-esque burnout rock, held together by Fyodor's seemingly random lyricism. On “That Was a Mistake,” he repeats the title phrase between deceptively simple lines like “I should have been there / But instead I am here”—which could be construed as pseudo-existentialist musings. On “Everybody's Sick,” Fyodor explains, “Doctors, lawyers, mystical gurus / Everybody's sick, everybody's sick,” cleverly turning the song around on the listener, and stating “If you like this, you must be sick.”

Fyodor and vocalist Babushka also don't hesitate to get political with “The God Gripe Song,” set to the tune of “What A Wonderful World,” which finds Babushka pondering, “Why are people so fucked up? / And why do they wanna blow things up?” It's a simple message, but presented in a weirdly poignant and childlike way. By this point in Peace, however, Fyodor begins to sound like Raffi on LSD, or more so, Wesley Willis, from the lyrics and crazy instrumentation to hyperactive tempos and bizarre subject matter: On the title track he sings, “Peace is boring, give me football / I want action, I'll take murder,” while the closing track, “Fuck-a-duck-a-luck-a-luck-a-ding-dong,” tosses any cohesion or sensibility out the window. After a full listen to Peace is Boring, the question remains: Is Little Fyodor a musical man-child, or just a regular guy who doesn’t give a fuck? The album gives little in the way of answers. Grade: B-