CD Review: Custard Wally – Call Me Walt

Custard Wally has a unique sound: there isn’t any other New York band who sound like them. They mix scorching punk with quieter, more straight-up rock that some might call more sensitive, but that wouldn’t be true. Frontman/guitarist Chris Giunta writes very funny songs with a no-holds-barred, punk rock sense of humor. This new cd begins with an intentionally over-the top Spinal Tap style heavy metal solo and then launches into a UK Subs type tribute to slum life, right down to its Nicky Garratt-ish metal guitar. The next track, Twinky’s Pudendum rewrites Led Zep’s Communication Breakdown as dirty-minded punk/metal. The cd’s third cut The World’s Silliest Clothes is a pretty janglepop song that sounds a lot like Brooklyn band the Larch, Giunta lapsing into the fake British accent he adopts on much of the band’s more comedic material. This one pokes fun at the traditional woman’s fixation with clothes and shopping.

 

Come Home Baby is Custard Wally’s Comfortably Numb, featuring slightly David Gilmour-influenced multitracked slide guitar by guest lead player Jeff Kelly. I’m in Luv Wif Shithead, which follows, is a twistedly catchy singalong about a relationship with a retarded girl. I’m So Glad I Left You Behind is pretty self-explanatory, but goes on for considerably longer to make sure you get the point:

 

I feel as tho I just got out of prison

But now you’re back just like the dead arisen

 

Set It Right is straight-up 70s rock, a cynical response to an ex who wants to get back together, featuring more Jeff Kelly lead guitar. Hard Night is a jazzy reggae nocturne with sax along with funky bass by guest Albey Balgochian, possibly a parody of a romantic song. With this band, it’s hard to tell whether they’re being serious or not. Chances are they aren’t. The last cut is Damn Big Liar, which has a second-generation Stones, Johnny Thunders feel:

 

The only thing I ever need is to feed my lust and desire

But I’m a damn big liar

 

Definitely a fun album, no lie. The cd cover illustration, a Wailing Wall pun, is also viciously amusing. The band will probably turn the volume up all the way and play punked-out versions of many of these songs at their cd release show this Saturday, August 16 at 9 PM at Don Pedro’s, a comfortably laid-back club located on the Willliamsburg/Bushwick border.

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