Moistboyz: Moistboyz V

If you were hoping that the awkward breakup of Ween would free up guitarist Mickey Melchiondo to explore more diverse musical avenues, be aware that the Moistboyz never was and never will be such an outlet. The collective mission of Melchiondo and Guy Heller has stayed the course since 1991 — to play high octane greasy beer rock with metal overtones. Heller gets to channel his inner Iggy while Melchiondo indulges in any six-stringed hardcore cliché he wishes.

Moistboyz V, the duo’s first release in seven years, keeps the flame nice and hot. And the nifty thing about a “side project” such as this is that it never gets formulaic or lazy. Melchiondo has too many stripes to let the music turn into a knuckle-dragging stereotype. The two men, with plenty of able hired head, slap together songs that dart and weave on a dime. And just like their previous albums, it’s over long before you tire of the “dumb rawk” routine. Plus is has this lyric: “Call you hermaphrodite / ‘Cause you can fuck yourself.”