To be honest, I've been bored shitless with music recently, or at least newer stuff. Which makes Ojo somewhat a breath of fresh air, to be more precise, the kind you get when sticking your head out the window of a moving car. Odd is a word that comes to mind when describing Ojo but when I tell you the band are from Waco, Texas you probably wouldn't be surprised and some of the lyrics point towards life in this "little bitty town" which came under the words attention in 1993.

Musically there's lots of Mr Bungle influence spazzing all over the place with frequent tempo and genre changes. This zany outlook fills my head with thoughts of Jim Henson puppets dancing on the set of Sesame Street. Sounds ridiculous but imagination is a pre requisite to this record as each of their songs take you on a journey through funk, jazz and at times, down right sillyness. They manage to put comedic elements in the context of thought provoking songs, yet for all its wackiness the bands serious side is never far away and underlies much of the record. The beauty is that it can be enjoyed on so many levels and each person will probably enjoy this record on a different note. You have songs like the awesome "Squeeze" with trip hop drum loops and a dark vibe that Depeche Mode would be proud of. On the other side of the spectrum the sporadic madness of "Zhu Zhunt Li'l Runt" which is either the sign of an insane or genius band. My moneys on both. Not forgetting the use of Native American flute music which rather than used for the sake of it makes for a unique listening experience and yet another example of the bands inventiveness and lack of constraints.

All in all I can't stress enough how refreshing this record is. 'Minutia' being the sort of pleasant surprise you'd given up hope of finding.