The New Duncan Imperials, End of Phase One

Long-running goofballs the New Duncan Imperials bring plenty of their inspired nonsense to their eigth album, End of Phase One. The band pilfers a multitude of styles, from garage to punk to ’50s rock, and cuts it all with the silliness and catchiness of the Replacements. You might ask yourself what it says about bunch of guys in their forties who write songs called “High School Soul,” but music like this is like sausage — you don’t ask too many questions about where it comes from. (Kind of like “Cherry Chapstick.”)

The Imperials are best when being as childish and silly as possible, such as in the gloriously anthemic album-closer “Circular Wheels,” a moment of completely inspired lyrical stupidity — “Circular wheels they will turn you around” are the complete lyrics of the song. (It’s almost a Zen koan of meaninglessness.) “The Mother Ship” combines a punchy garage riff with a monstrously catchy melody and takes the song over the top with inspired harmonies and an epic guitar solo.

Not all of the songs are silly, though. “Nothing to Do” is a slow, pretty acoustic number with a melody remininscent of the Replacements. “I Love You Honey But I Hate Your Band” is about a situation every musician is afraid of being in. They offer a few suggestions to alleviate the problem: tear her gig fliers down; sabotaging her band’s van; and so on.

It’s remarkable that a band that started out as a joke has managed to survive for almost 20 years. It helps to have a knack for catchy melodies and a tight and tasteful band — there isn’t a bad move on the entire album. If the Imperials are still putting out good music this far into their career, there’s nothing that can stop them. Maybe there’s something to not growing up, after all.