Demos

Zen Boy and Karma Girl - Earth vs. Zen Boy and Karma Girl

Owain Paciuszko 01/04/2009

Rating: 2/5

There was something about the name, the cartoon artwork and the inclusion of a cover of the Beastie Boys's Fight For Your Right To Party that gave me a different expectation from Zen Boy & Karma Girl. I wasn't expecting the folk-pop contained across this seven track EP.

After a brief intro there's Earth vs. You a slightly disjoined number, there's something of the Aimee Mann sound to the duo. With its wonky guitars their cover of Fight For Your Right... has a similar feel to early Eels, but this version lacks any real inspiration, just turning the rap classic into a sleepily sung alt-country number.

This second release from the two self-proclaimed 'Superheroes from another planet who have reluctantly become folk singers on Earth' is a rather toothless affair, its sweetly sung and competently strummed, but there's a lack of invention to both the lyrics and sound that causes the record to blur into the background.