Album Review: Fogs and Lasers II

There's a school of thought in the creative classes that if nothing else, this pandemic thing is at least going to inspire some masterful art. Fog And Lasers II, a collective musical comedy album produced by Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll and Chris Reineck, is not that. That said, it's not quite fair to suggest a Zoom-era album pieced together from more than 20 different contributors needs to match Dare To Be Stupid.

Musically, Fog And Lasers II features disconcertingly adept performances for a comedy rock album, as players from Canadian acts like Weaves, Dwayne Gretzky, Danko Jones and The Elwins deftly slink through pop, rock, R&B and what might be the first-ever documented instance of a sound we'll call financier trap.

The exactly-what-it-says-it's-about "Fuck A Little Cereal Up" and bring-out-the-guillotines "So Wretch" and "Investment Banker" have their moments. But it's (yes, I understand the irony) the COVID-themed songs — "Piece Of Shit Joggers" raking of athletic assholes being too close and breathing on you, "Dumb As Fuck" about the neighbours who're having house parties, and, "Make Out With A Relative," which I'm choosing to believe is specifically about desperate quarantine loneliness and isolation — which shine the brightest beams here.

Fog and Lasers II was released November 13, 2020 on Comedy Records.
Listen to it here.