MARK OF THE MOLE

The Residents may have overreached on the Mole project, but this disk is at least a very fine album. The album tells the story about two groups of people(?), one that redides above ground, one that resides below, and an epic clash between the two.

Whether you listen to the story or not, the record/CD is a wonder to the ears. Containing eerie and ominous music, the music is a treasure. Created before the eyeball guys started generating most of their sounds from synthesizes, the music has an organic feel to it, while at some times, they use the same instruments to create a very mechanized sound. No one could do it better than The Residents.

My CD, the first ESD release, also has the EP "Intermission" as a bonus. This music is more like the traditional Residents music that we had heard on the previous albums. It was made as Intro, intermission, and outro music for the live "Mole Show".

While this may not be the easiest Residents album to get into, it is one of the finest.

And it has famed skeptic/magician Penn Jillette on it.