King Missile
King Missle has never grown much beyond its original premise: Presenting John S. Hall's offbeat poems over the shifting musical background constructed by a trio of veteran New York art-rockers. The group's self-titled sixth album tries to turn these music-and-poetry set pieces into more conventional songs, and the monotone Hall even tries to sing on "What If" and "Pigs Will Fly." But ultimately, the focus is on the words, and even if you enjoy them (which I do), King Missile albums are like other comedy recordings: After a listen or two, you file them away and forget about them. --Jim DeRogatis