What the hell is a farfisa? Whatever it is, the New Bomb Turks manage to incorporate it on their latest release. The astounding elusiveness of this theoretical instrument (my encyclopedias offered no insight) typifies what's happening on the record as a whole; strange sources of inspiration, not easily identifiable, not easily digestible, compel you to scream, "Okay! I submit! Average Band you are not; you have challenged my listening sensibilities, you have offered me something that fails to fall conveniently into any familiar schema; nonetheless, at record's end I'm not sure if I'm impressed, or just confused."

The most striking quality of this album is its production, something akin to an early- seventies rock album (vinyl, of course) played at a level that's sure to blow your speakers. For the most part, the sound is a proud mark of distinction, but the four featured songs recorded in Sweden take it a bit too far with excessive distortion and a hard- to- hear mid- range as a result. Stylistically, the songs are well suited by the production. Many hearken to the heyday of Kiss-- the era brilliantly captured on Alive II-- when the guitars raged with the intensity of a thousand youths and the music called upon piano, background singers, and rockabilly shuffle to raise the roof.

In "Streamline Yr Skull," vocalist Eric Davidson makes his motives clear: "Wanna be like bullets, Buicks, rockabilly/ All the greats that went nowhere fast." These nostalgic words not only demonstrate Davidson's unique lyrical voice, they enmesh the band with an aura that seems more western or southern than their Columbus, Ohio roots denote. At Rope's End encourages the listener to view Route 66 as the Highway to Heaven, bar brawls as gateways to honor, and cornfields and humble shacks as symbols of civilized society. Yet no matter how bucolic the material becomes, it all passes through the punk rock prism of passion, rugged guitar, and insubordination.

Does the band contradict itself? Yes, but like Walt Whitman, they do it intentionally; they're human, they contain multitudes. No matter how noble their intentions, though, the result of all this shifting can be overwhelming. I mean, isn't it possible that the band could have dazzled us just as much without the farfisa?

-Kevin Ruggeri