Quebec

VINYL FORMAT. Prior to the release of their eighth studio album, Ween claimed that Quebec represented a return to the "browner side" of the band, an assertion that surely warmed the hearts of longtime followers. If you're not sure what the "browner side" is, it's their prediliction for weirdness — both creepy and cheerful — which has largely been absent since expert studio-craft entered the picture with Chocolate & Cheese — a record that had its share of strangeness ("Spinal Menegitis (Got Me Down)" is as unsettling as pop music gets, no matter how darkly funny it is), but surely exhibited their musicality. It's a sheer delight for those who patiently sat through the longest period between Ween albums yet.