ESKIMO

This is a weird (of course it's weird, it's the Residents - but this is even weird for them), but compelling album from the eyeball guys. The songs, while somewhat rhythmic and musical, tell the story of Eskimo (or Inuit, if you most) life, from birth to death. There are plenty of sound effects, and you definitely get a feeling of being in a very cold place. But at the same time, the album is very sparse, and does not really hold up under frequent listenings.

The lyrics are a mix of English, and what sounds sort of like the same gibberish the group created for the Mole series. It's bizarre, and sometimes fun, and sometimes annoying. Who wants to listen to a baby crying over and over?

On my ESD CD, they were generous enough to add the EP "The Replacement". This EP, recorded around the same time as the album, is much more like the albums the Resedents were making at the time. While it doesn't really fit with Eskimo, conceptually, it does provide some comic relief after the heaviness of the arctic experience.