King Khan & The Shrines — What Is?!

King Khan is originally from Montreal, but now resides in Berlin, and his Shrines are spread around western Europe, so it may not be totally surprising that this album came out in Germany two years ago and is only now getting a North American release.

It's too bad it took so long because if the rest of the record was as strong as the first four songs, What Is?! would have a strong case as my favourite album of the year. "(How Can I Keep You) Outta Harms Way" sets the tone from the start with a vintage '60s sound and a killer mix of garage rock and soul. "I Wanna Be A Girl" is irresistibly catchy, the more soulful "Welfare Bread" features sweet backing vocals and single "Land Of The Freak" is a freakbeat rocker with horns.

It's not that the rest of the record is bad, it's just that it rarely reaches such highs in the 11 remaining tracks, aside from the guitar-driven "No Regrets" and the French-sung "Le Fils De Jacques Dutronc."

The band's Sun Ra influences show up on the psychedelic and mildly spazzed-out "Cosmic Serenade." "Fear & Love" is also heavily psyched and "The Ballad Of Lady Godiva" sounds like it could have been a Velvet Underground castoff.

The rest of the tracks fall within the parameters of all the above-mentioned genres and work well in the band's renowned and often crazy performances, but they lack that certain something that could have made What Is?! great instead of merely good.

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