I've never heard of Penquin Cafe Orchestra, nor do I think I've ever heard the opening track "Penguin Cafe Single". So why do I feel like I know this music? It's possible that it was used for a movie or TV show. Or maybe a more popular band that I've heard of used snippets from "Penguin Cafe Single" as part of an extended jam. Or perhaps the melody and riffs are just so ubiquitous it wouldn't matter if I'd never heard it. Regardless it's a cute little piece and a neat arrangment using a couple of keyboards and a fiddle.
The songs that follow aren't nearly as good, unless you like weird experimental stuff that refuses to follow a rigid structure. "Milk" features a minimalist bass rhythm, random plucking on a ukelele, some asshole pounding on a harpsichord (and yes, whoever it is seriously is an asshole, because they're pounding on a freaking harpsichord), and what sounds like a couple singers making buzzing noises with their lips. A couple of songs may feature lyrics but they are completely unintelligible, so they might as well be random sounds. "Pigtail" has long pauses featuring maybe somebody lightly breathing onto the microphone.
When PCO cuts it with the experimental crap they can write a nice little ditty. Despite it's overly pretentious title and in spite of its obscene 12-minute runtime "The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter" is sad, quiet, and lovely. I mean it does freak out a bit at the end, but I suppose if an experimental band is going to play anything for more than a few minutes I can't expect them to not start playing their instruments with cats eventually.
So, when PCO is just kinda playing, it's pretty good. When they're dicking around it's pretty awful. I'll balance that out into a solid 3-star rating.
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