Lahon w Habs

This late-’60s Venezuelan band is another fine discovery from Shadoks, who seem to be unearthing an endless stream of worthy, neglected psychedelic albums. The liner notes leave many questions unanswered, but the story appears to begin with Venezuelan-born American Steve Scott. A bassist and singer, he found two Venezuelan brothers, Mario and Jaime Seijas, and they then completed a foursome with Adib Casta. Inspired by the times, they recorded one album and became quite popular, playing regularly to large crowds. There’s no information, though, about where the strange name came from, or what happened to the group…

Obliterating the concept of guilty musical pleasures, I Get Wet turns hair metal hedonism, punk energy, and pop melodies into an instant, insistent blast of fun with all the power of a beer commercial. From the opening anthem, "It's Time to Party," to the excellently named finale, "Don't Stop Living in the Red," the album is all climax – the blasting guitars, blaring keyboards, and Andrew W.K. himself are all turned up to 11 throughout. W.K. is a one-man manifesto, dedicated to spreading the way of the party with songs like "Party Hard" ("We do what we like and we like what we do!" could be "Dirty deeds done dirt cheap" several generations down the road), "Party Til You Puke," and "I Get Wet," and the fact that he looks like the stoner bully from high school only adds to his cred. Guessing whether or not Andrew W.K. is a big joke or not is almost beside the point; he comes on so strong that he either really means it, maaan, or he's got his tongue stuck firmly in his bloodied cheek.