Let's Have a Pancake!

Album Review

Reestablishing their role as one of New England's most diversely talented and underrated harmonic entities, CTP delivers yet again with a coherently varied collection of musical madness. From the self-censored opener (and uncensored closer) "That's What She Said" and the lazily fanfared reunion of "This Is Home" to the encouraging vaudevillian bounce of "Bob What's-Is-Name" and the late-night lounge of "What'll It Be," Chandler and the boys (including Reverse's Jackson Cannon and Mike Piehl) offer a wonderfully wacky set of songs. An uncredited interlude boozily combines "Hello Dolly" and "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Stay Like That" sounds like it has been ripped from the TMBG catalog (complete with Linnell-y vocals). "Nature Boy" is a percussive samba from the same environment as Talking Heads' "Nothing but Flowers" and "Got to Let It Go Sometime" is a gentle harmonic ballad reminiscent of Moxy Fruvous. Though the drums on "Crab Napkin" never quite get in line with the rest of the Costello-d crustacean crunch, the music is easy to appreciate, even by the boys in the band, who show their love for their frivolous leader with the penultimate paeon "Chandler Travis, King of the World." It's silly. It's goofy. It's tight. It's Chandler Travis.