Following the acapella "Hey Na" ("Hey-Na! Who-Na! Who-Na-Hey!" being the only lyrics) opener, "The World Outside Her Door" employs the same chord progression (and somewhat similar melody) of Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door". There's a child-like chorus on the repeated refrain, and the orchestration is rather nice. Actually one of the best songs on the album, and perhaps the least weird one. While the vocals on the previous track were a bit understated, the quirkiness of the vocals begins to really come to fore on "An Impersonation of Angels" and the little girl's chorus (Catherine Debon, Margery Fairchild and Erica Blue) with lyrics befitting Captain Beefheart, Andre Breton, and/or Daevid Allen, all to a stomping beat.

Things get spooky in "Bright Penny" and by now you realize this is absolutely tongue-in-cheek strange cabaret, with melodramatic vocals. Next song - "General Tommy and the Astronaut" doesn't even require a description; the title sort of says it all. Elsewhere you get songs about a "Dust Mite," "Overcoat," "The Pig is Sleeping," etc., etc. Obviously this album has a story to it, but I'll be damned if I can figure it out. Occasionally there's a spoken word intro (done by Bud, who seems to do most of the weird voices) but I think both he and The Slow Poisoner sing. I imagine that more than a few people may be put off by Bud's looney vocals, but the songs are good enough to carry the album. One of the more unusual track is mash-up- "Retrofitted" (Kingdom of Not)/"Transmission" (Joy Division) which somehow works in spite of everything.

Other guest musicians deserve a mention - Alex Curry and Nick Culp (keyboards; Malcolm Sherwood (bass); Ken Huntington (harmonica); and Billy Bill Miller (autoharp, voices) of Roky Erikson & the Aliens. If it wasn't for Bud's penchant for off-the-wall vocals, these guys might just sound like Talking Heads on too much acid. As is though, there is nothing else I know of out there like Kingdom of Not, and consequently, impossible to classify in any Chain D.L. K. genre, except Weird and Wired/Experimental. Apparently they play live a lot, and live is probably just the right medium for their story-oriented theatrics. Give it a listen and if you like it, pick up their album on vinyl (which is only 15 bucks) while supplies last.