The Presidents of the United States of America - More Bad Times EP

If The Presidents were a one-note joke band from the dim and distant '90s, then no one told them. It's possible that, had Dr. Seuss written lyrics for a band, his musings might only just make more sense than this lot, who seem to revel in childlike absurdism to the point of turning it into a Zen-poetry art form. Opening track Bad Times mourns a life gone right, wishing for more despair, while Ballad of the Unstoppable Female celebrates the life of Anna Nicole Smith, as if re-told by Terry Gilliam. The Presidents are like tuberculosis - you thought that they had vanished, but they were always lurking out there somewhere; you might not want them anywhere near you, but they're pretty infectious. [Ewen Millar]