Scattered genres The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever (Too Young To Die) 1 1/2 stars (out of 5 stars) Reviewed: May 1, 2006

Review by Andy Argyrakis

The duo who make up The Boy Least Likely To are former school mates in the English village of Wendover who got their kicks watching classic John Hughes movies, retro reruns of "Top of the Pops" and reading Anne Sexton or Douglas Coupland. From a musical perspective, singer and lyricist Jof with his multi-instrumentalist pal Peter plugged into a plethora of arty 80s indie acts such as Altered Images, Aztec Camera, and Orange Juice, along with one hit wonders Dexy's Midnight Runners (known primarily in the States for "Come On Eileen").

As a result of that sometimes cool/sometimes campy yet ultra odd combination, the pair churned out The Best Party Ever, which doesn't exactly turn out to be the soundtrack to a raging throw down, but rather a hodgepodge of sonic dings and dongs with all sorts of genres blindly intersecting with one another. The disc's dozen cuts run the gamut of sublime pop and a country/folk flavor with incredibly eccentric lyrics and lots of random sound effects. The lead track "Be Gentle With Me" begins with the striking of a xylophone, which then transitions into what could easily be misconstrued as adults singing children's music supplemented by soothing harmonies. Equally scattered results come with the trippy "Monsters," the washboard grinder "I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star" and the Americana slapped "Hugging My Grudge."

Though this series of musical jumping jacks is likely to have some audience out there, it's going to be a mostly underground niche who appreciate absolutely no structure whatsoever. To a more mainstream minded listener, the album will likely be downright annoying and worth skipping over completely, if only its string of constant silliness. While titles like "Sleeping With a Gun Under My Pillow" and "Fur Soft As Fur" could probably cause a chuckle with either faction, only the former category has significant chances of fully finding humor within the inside jokes.