I have a special place in my heart for oddball bands that do not fit into any standard notions of what is cool or in fashion. I still remember seeing Busted Flush for the first time at the Drake (the old Drake, not the new fashionable Drake) and thinking, “Who are these guys? How did they get here?” A similar reaction was elicited by the appearance of BabyOil’s CD in my mailbox, though I knew how it got to me: 20 years ago, I met their guitarist, Barrie “Bear” Farrell, in the office of a college radio station just before we were both thrust onto the air for what were, in retrospect, bizarre political reasons. I hadn’t heard from him in years, until this. The band also includes a deedley guitarist who looks to be half everyone else’s age and a singer who used to be an extreme fighter. He sings with a classic punk-operatic voice and the band chugs away at an assortment of workman-like rockers. Where does it fit in? Don’t ask me. (Terence Dick)
CD, www.babyoilmusic.com