Best known for the song “4 Chords,” Axis of Awesome has released a new album
Once in a while, a fantastic musical comedy act appears on the scene and provides you with a refreshing pause from the Lady Gagas and Kanye Wests. Weird Al has made a long-running and extremely successful career of it and recent acts to make the jump include Hard ‘n Phirm, Lonely Island and Flight of the Conchords. Now, Axis of Awesome has entered the U.S. musical comedy landscape and their latest album, “Animal Vehicle,” will not disappoint.
The band is comprised of Aussies lead vocalist Jordan Raskopoulos, vocalist/keyboardist Benny Davis and “way way back up vocalist”/guitarist Lee Naimo. The group’s fantastic sense of humor combined with Davis’ classical music training make for hilarious and memorable music and their latest effort “Animal Vehicle” showcases that. One of the songs, “4 Chords” has long been a YouTube favorite. Playing off of the fact that most hit songs only use four chords, the band combines those that fit that mold into a medley that is as entertaining as it is catchy. While the revamped version that appears on the album features snippets of recent hits like “Paparazzi,” you can watch an earlier version of the song below.
In addition to “4 Chords,” the album also features a Five for Fighting parody and a slew of original songs like “How to Write a Love Song,” — featuring pop song cliches — “The Skeleton Man” — about a man who’s part man, part skeleton — and “The Language of Love” — featuring lyrics in German rather than French.
Overall, “Animal Vehicle” is a catchy, hilarious album that is sure to make you believe that the Axis of Awesome is “The World’s Most Awesomest Comedy Band.”
