Tank Top City! Does that not sound like a cool place? Sugarsmack might have something if this album were as fun as the title indicates. As it is, it's an occasionally entertaining mess.

Sugarsmack delight in genre- hopping, and you have to hear them a few times to understand what they're about. Punk one moment and folk the next, things can get confusing until you realize that the common thread is humor. The first time you hear "Taft" (lead singer/ history buff Hope Nicholls named eight out of the the 16 songs after U.S. Presidents), you might say, "Jesus, this sounds like bad heavy metal." Then you realize, "Ah, it's a tongue- in- cheek parody of bad heavy metal." Which doesn't make it any more enjoyable, but at least helps you understand where these kids are coming from.

Sadly, parody comprises far too much of Tank Top City, and as a result, it ends up falling several laughs short of "This is Spinal Tap." Another major annoyance is that Nicholls, trying to compensate for her compressed range, goes with a mannered approach that consists of screaming and/ or seemingly random vocal ticks that are so grating you want to rub a chunk of fresh Parmesan against them.

There are a few bright spots, however. "Nitz" feels like some kind of funked- up Tom Waits cover, with a delightfully trashy horn section and a sleazy jazz fusion melody; "Reagan" is a nice send-up of glam rock that gets heads bobbing; "Carter" boasts a tight, jangly groove; and the fine, everything- but- the- kitchen- sink production style had my cat Otis pricking up his ears with regularity. But in the end, lackluster songwriting and poor singing make Tank Top City a questionable vacation spot.

-Mark Richard-San