The Bon Scotts: Oddernity

First things first, this Aussie septet has nothing to do with AC/DC’s dearly departed lead singer, save a geographical connection. That said, everyone’s favorite hard rockin’ Aussies may be the only band that the freewheeling Bon Scotts don’t sound like in the course of their dizzying Oddernity, originally released in 2009 but getting a late 2010 reissue. There are tips o’ the tam to Neutral Milk Hotel, Clouds Taste Metallic-era Flaming Lips, the Lilys, brakesbrakesbrakes and Los Campesinos!, as well as namechecks of Bob Dylan, Karen Dalton, Sam Beam and Bruce Springsteen. Whew! The kitchen-sink approach fits Oddernity’s theme — reclaiming personal identity in the face of 21st century cultural overload — as key aphorisms, both sincere and tongue-in-cheek, pop up through the gleeful din of glockenspiels, harpsichords, accordions and other multisyllabic instruments: “The songs of our youth will all be jingles”; “Old songs are the best”; “Good people ruin everything”; “Looking good is half the battle”. A few gentler, folk-inspired tunes on the album’s b-side keep Oddernity from going completely off the rails (or slow the record’s giddy momentum, depending on your POV), but at their best the Bon Scotts are a cynically joyous (or is that joyfully cynical?) band of merry pranksters.