There's leftfield and then there's completely inexplicable. Leftfield is independent hip-hop acts like cLOUDDEAD and Restiform Bodies picking up where prog rock left off. Inexplicable is a trio with dubious skills deciding that it would be a fun idea to assume the identities of fictional criminals from an 80's cartoon program and produce an entire concept album from their point of view. Even more inexplicable is how brilliant the end-product is in spite of the head-scratching nature of it all. Dubious skills? Yeah. There's really no other way to put it. The Baroness can do the whole R&B crooning thing pretty damned well, but when it's her turn to clutch the mic... err. Let's just say that she doesn't account for herself quite as well as, say, Lauryn Hill and leave it at that. Destro's a fundamentally sound rapper, but is it only because he's rapping alongside the flow-challenged Baroness? It's sort of hard to tell. Cobra Commander, the backbone of the outfit, is better known as minimal techno producer Tomas Jirku when he yanks the shroud off. The one release of his that I've got, Entropy, was a tepid ride through minimal techno. But never mind all that. The good Commander elevates his game. Where once there was nondescript minimal techno, now there's oddball, often computer-funky beats informed by hip-hop sensibilities a la much of the Planet Mu roster. The flows of Baroness and Destro won't win any fans among the message board set but honestly... who gives a fuck? On multiple tracks, the duo takes you on a ride through episodes of GI Joe and COBRA's crackpot, can't-miss plans for world domination... that somehow manage to fail in spite of their evil intentions. They talk shit about Joes' skill with laser guns. They regularly poke fun of Lady Jaye and her mullet. After talking about some of their bloodier encounters with Joes, they even give helpful tips on what shampoo is the best for getting blood out of your hair (if you have hair, that is). When they say "Turn the radio off / what is that crap / you kids on the block / what the fuck / what happened to music / sounds like everyone's either deaf or just stupid / GI Joe Killaz gonna make you know our name / give you something fresh to listen to for a change", they're not kidding. There's a couple of lukewarm tracks, but otherwise it's a deadpan comic trip through the world of COBRA backed by hot beats. Grab it before Hasbro finds out about them and gives them the lawsuit treatment that Mattel gave Aqua. - jesus x. lovejones