Horse the Band - The Mechanical Hand

Ok, this was a weird one. 'The Mechanical Hand' being the 2nd long player from these weirdos, sees the band refining their sound while not losing site of the, uh, weirdness that makes them unique. Horse the Band, if you have never heard them will easily either royally piss you off or make you scratch your head in disbelief, at the same time. Although not easily pigeonholed into one genre, you could start off describing them as a mix of Mr. Bungle, The Dillenger Escape Plan, and one part 8 bit Nintendo Entertainment System. Dubbed as Nintendo core by some, what makes the band stand out is the infusion of keyboardist/Napoleon Dynamite body double Erik Engstrom's unique playing that literally sound like the music to the old NES games. Where the band work best is when they write more straight forward songs like 'Birdo' or the incredibly rocking 'Lord Gold Throneroom'. Gawd, I just love these keyboards! The other tracks tend to come across as jumbled, incoherent ideas, but when it works, it works so damn well. At any given moment, you could be awash in blast beats and doodling ala Dream Theater and have what sounds like the theme to The Legend of Zelda in the background. Sound strange? Believe you me, it is, but I like it. Maybe it's because I grew up with the NES (oh?I'm dating myself here) and its sounds nostalgic. I'd rather listen to this than any of those so called true kult necro black metal bands. It will be interesting to see if the appeal of this band can be sustained.