Le Hammond Inferno

If you're hip to the cutting-edge trends in Euro-dance pop, then you're probably familiar with the Bungalow label and its roster, which has included, at various times, such secret-handshake names as Stereo Total, Momus, Dauerfisch, and even Saint Etienne. Le Hammond Inferno is something of a vanity project by the label's two head honchos, Holger Beier and Marcus Liesenfeld, and it's really pretty much perfect. Veering crazily from tongue-in-cheek house ("Move Your MP-3" and "An Apple a Day") to Brazilian rap ("Herbert") and something that sounds for all the world like a trip-hop tribute to the Fall ("C.K.-T-Shirts"), Le Hammond Inferno never quite descend into novelty-tune triviality, but never stop having fun, either. Highlights include the hilarious and aptly titled "Speech Defects" and that Brazilian rap number. Paradigmatic couplet: "Put your left hand in the air/And your mp3 in your underwear." ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide