Liam Lynch - Fake Songs
 by Dan Grote

This time around we take a bit of a departure. Instead of a straight ahead cover album Dan looks at Liam Lynch, a man who opts to cover artists styles not their music and also offers up parodies and other fun stuff. Watch out Wierd Al, here comes Liam!  

Liam Lynch - Fake Songs
Label: S-Curve Records
Rating: 
 

Tracks: SOS  United States Of Whatever  Fake Bjork Song  Still Wasted From The Party Last Night  Cuz You Do - (featuring Ringo Starr)  I'm All Bloody Inside  Electrician's Day  Rapbot  Fake David Bowie Song  Rock And Roll Whore - (with Jack Black)  Sugar Walkin'  Fake Pixies Song  Happy  Well Hung  Fake Depeche Mode Song  Try Me - (featuring Ringo Starr)  Vulture's Son  Horny Kind Of Love  Fake Talking Heads Song  Sir Track

Listen to samples and Purchase this CD online

Liam Lynch’s Fake Songs is a testament to what one man can do in his basement with a guitar and some ProTools software. The songs waiver between homages to alt-rock pioneers such as Bjork, Depeche Mode, and David Bowie, and out and out comedy tracks that still pay reverence to the genre from whence they came.

Though Fake Songs is Liam Lynch’s debut album, the man already possesses a rather impressive industry background. In addition to directing the upcoming Tenacious D movie, he has also worked on several of MTV’s more left of center shows, having created the sock puppet showcase Sifl and Ollie and scored the more recent animated show Clone High.

While song titles such as “Fake Bjork Song,” “Fake Pixies Song” and “Fake Talking Heads Song” may suggest a comedy style leaning towards Weird Al, don’t expect to laugh. Not because the songs aren’t funny, but because the “Fake” songs, although short, actually sound like original compositions by the spoofed artists, especially on the Bjork and Depeche Mode tracks. In fact, it’s when Lynch gets to the non-homage songs that he occasionally comes dangerously close to resembling the squeezebox spoofster, especially on “Happy” and “I’m All Bloody Inside.”

However, the non-homage songs also deliver his most brilliant strokes of genius. The album’s peak is the gospel jam “Electrician’s Day,” wherein a Black God begs, “Honkey, get yo’ white ass off the stage,” while Lynch preaches of a non-existent craftsman’s holiday. Also good for bellylaughs is “Rapbot,” wherein Lynch proudly boasts: “I got a laser thing, and a blinking light, I’m like some kind of rappin’ swiss army knife.”
Rounding out the album are some celebrity cameos, as Lynch gets beaten by Jack Black in an embellished singing contest on “Rock and Roll Whore,” and Ringo Starr plays drums on the surprisingly early Beatles-like tracks “Try Me” and “Cuz You Do.”

VERDICT: He uses computer engineering software but plays an acoustic guitar. He’s a relative unknown, but Ringo Starr is playing drums on his album. And the joke is that his “Fake” songs aren’t the jokes. He’s not writing pop songs or deep think pieces, but based on his current body of work, Lynch seems to have a pretty good handle on the whole songwriting thing. A cult hero is born.

DVD alert: Fake Songs comes with a second disc full of music videos, behind the scenes video footage and short animated films, as well of footage of Ringo Starr doin’ stuff.