Griddle: Klimty Favela

Griddle’s third album, Klimty Favela is exactly what one might expect from an album that comes with a comic book — colorful, sprawling, and adventurous. The album’s melodic sensibility and playful psychedelic experimentalism recall the Flaming Lips, but no comparisons can adequately prepare listeners to experience Klimty Favela. The album encompasses everything from sing-along pop goodness (“Dr. Becky Bolanky”) to soaring, falsetto-warbling weirdness (“City Made of Teeth”). For most of their compositions, the band members assembled clips from their jam sessions to make songs. At times, this improvisatory approach causes the music to meander. Overall, though, the album’s many virtues, which include clever songs, interesting arrangements, and genuine humor, far outweigh its faults.