Trying Hartz

iTunes Review

There is nothing in Christian or secular music quite like the songs of freak-folk auteur Daniel Smith. His band Danielson (a.k.a. Danielson Famile) has earned a cult following by filtering Bible-inspired themes through an idiosyncratic matrix of angular melodies, jarring rhythms, and childlike lyrics. Trying Hartz combines studio tracks from the band’s first decade (1994-04) with a smattering of live recordings, delineating (if not clarifying) Smith intentions as a musical provocateur. Glockenspiels, tinny keyboards and stripped-down drums give tracks like “Flip Flop Flim Flam,” “Thanx to Noah,” and “A No No” the feel of a children’s pageant gone berserk. Certain concerns emerge from the obscurity — “Cutest Lil’ Dragon” is a warning against temptation, for instance. Occasionally, Danielson moves beyond its herky-jerky sound towards something more accessible, as in the softly ruminative “Fetch the Compass Kids.” Smith and his cohorts are downright entertaning on the participatory live number “Don’t You Be the Judge.” The prevailing mood, though, is somewhere between giddy and disturbing, making Trying Hartz an experience not for the tender-eared or narrow-minded.