Diet, The

Three members of weirdo alt-country masters Lambchop got together and created...an electronic dance album? I was puzzled too, but then I started listening to the thing. A lot of the special ingredients that make Lambchop great are still here: the warm and enveloping textures, frontman Kurt Wagner's sentimental and surreal grandpa-on-the-front-porch vocals. And the beats—I never thought I'd say this about a Lambchop-related album—the beats actually BANG. This is legit dance music, not some gimmick. (And if you've never listened to Lambchop, they're really worth checking out.)
Favorites: 1, 2, 4, 7. FCC WARNING: 5.

1. *(3:47)—Medium-fast, pumping, grinding, funky, upbeat house.
2. *(5:31)—Mid-tempo. Elements of disco and new wave. Immensely catchy and hypnotic.
3. (3:42)—Fast, angular, driving, bouncy, four-on-the-floor.
4. *(5:14)—Medium-slow, really pretty, melancholy downtempo.
5. (3:32)—FCC WARNING (s***). Mid-tempo. Skittery rhythms and samples from a Buddy Hackett comedy routine.
6. (4:18)—Mid-tempo, skittery again, with spaced-out rhythms and vocals.
7. *(3:41)—Mid-tempo, chilled-out. Finger snap sounds, glitchy synths. If it weren't for the drum pads, this would sound a lot like Lambchop.
8. (3:40)—Fast, fuzzed-out breakbeats. Squelching synths.
9. (4:03)—Mid-tempo, four-on-the-floor with a weird mix of dark textures and sparkling synths.