If you are someone who judges records by the cover art, the chances are you will never get to hear this album.
The brash band logo and blurred photo of a nervous-looking man getting kissed on the cheek are as off-putting as the corny title. As it turns out, this dubious sense of taste seems to be deliberate - this, after all, is a band who are proud to be described as "fun, retro and cheesy".
Mr Brady are an Aussie trio led by John Nelder (vocals and keys) who make no attempt to be trendy or cool. Instead, they inhabit a private universe happily obsessing about vintage soft-pop and 1970s TV culture.
Nedler apparently won a comedy competition at Melbourne University and it is his unashamedly nerdy humour that defines this Brady bunch.
The wry observations on love and celebrity seem tailored for some glossy sitcom show. For instance, there's a song about a washed up relic of 1970s soft rock dreaming of a comeback (The Fame I So Deserve), a dedication to a Prime Time Princess ("too good to be fiction") and even walk on parts for Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis (Love On A Friday).
This is not a record that expects to be taken seriously, as you quickly realise when Nelder cheerily sings "I never thought our love would end with a death notice" ('Twenty Five Words') or cute one-liners like "from the clutches of a midwife to the clutches of a mid-life crisis" (Life After Birth).
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Occasionally smug and self-satisfied, the saving grace is that beneath the throwaway humour lies a hint of pathos, a quality that makes a ditty about an unbelievable, unavailable woman on Never Busy work so well.
At its best, his sharp observations are both funny and sad although it has to be said that the jokes tend to wear a little thin over the course of ten songs.
For the most part, these are silly ditties designed to raise a smile and brighten up a tired day time radio play list.
In short..... it's relatively charming.
Mr Brady website
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