Wizards of Ooze - Almost... Bikini (1999)

Taking the bull by the horns right away : Wizards of Ooze have delivered the best Belgian pop-album of the year with this "Almost .. Bikini". And with quite a considerable lead too. No need to read any further. Just go and buy this one. That bull can go now. Hey.
If the above should seem a little too short for a cd-review :
The Wizards have - for this "difficult third album"- surpassed themselves with a playful and poppy cd that is very open, very musical, very funky, very horny and "catchy as hell". Not an album that needs to grow on you : this one stands like a skyscraper right away, and it survives countless spins with ease (I'm at 15 or so at the time of writing).
"Big Red Balloon", "Bubbles" and "Bustin' Loose" are poppy songs with inventive sounds and solo's. Seems like they have stolen all the toys of their children that produce some noise. These guys are fun!
On "Lumbago" (the Frank Zappa of Sjeikh Yerbouti) and "25" (Wolfman Jack lost in a pinball-machine that belongs to Captain Beefheart) they let go of all pedals and brakes, but they manage to maintain an order in the chaos that testifies great musical skills. These guys can play!
"Cheezy", "Paperbag" and "Six-Pack Cooler" shift in to the lowest humming gear, and cuddle up to your ears in a most enchanting and sexy way. These tracks are the bastard sons of the Purple Man from Minneapolis and Steely Dan. White soul that flows from your speakers like honey. These guys have soul!
On "Five Below" the group is suddenly transformed into a guitar-band that could easily grasp a place at Lolapalooza or so. These guys rock!
"Summerbreeze" (the extension to the ominous track "Lizard") is an instrumental freak-out-show that revived the seventies nightmare of bands such as Focus and other hippies who used the transverse flute. I know some orifices where you can stick that instrument, boys.
I'm rather curious whether the Wizards of Ooze will be able to keep a grip on this material in live conditions. On this cd, the mix between "cheesy" and "funky" is extremely good. Conclusion : I started with that, you blind (and stupid if you're not on your way to the shop yet) twit.