The name "Ugly Americans" may ring a bell to a few people out there. This Austin-based band enjoyed some success with their first album, "Stereophonic Spanish Fly." They have played on the H.O.R.D.E. festival tour, and they've appeared with bands such as "The Dave Matthews Band," "Cowboy Mouth" and "Big Head Todd and the Monsters."

However, I doubt even their biggest fans would be prepared for the
directions they've branched out in on their latest album, "Boom Boom Baby." The band, which had captured an all-out rock feel with their first release, have come back with a hot-jammin, body-slammin, punked out, funked out, earthquaking, ass-shaking hip-hop, don't stop, butt-kicking, finger-licking bowl of supergroove alterna-rock, dance-heavy, feel-good, hold-you-down-and-kick-your-tail stew. (Would you like fries with that?)

The album opens and closes with the funky rap exploration into a night of
carnal pleasure (translation: f*ck song), "Boom Boom Baby." The opening version is a radio-ready version, while the closing version is the
delightfully wicked uncut version. The lyrics are just perverse enough to
offend anyone, and just enjoyable enough to keep you from being offended long.

The band delves into slow funk with the second and third tracks, "Fast Food Shuffle" and "Chilly at the Crib." The second track features a smooth horn section that totally immerses the listener into the music, while the third track showcases the best of the band's hip-hop groove thang.

The band moves back into the area of folk-rock with their next track, "Texas Isn't Big Enough." This track features some rather melodic guitar work that adds a soft vibe to the song. They reach for a New Orleans sound with "The Wrong Direction." It is a folksy rocker that would sound right at home in a Bourbon Street club, and features the catchy chorus: "She's got the right way of saying 'I love you.'/ She's got the wrong direction, cause it ain't me she's saying it to."

The funked up rap of "Hippietown" follows with a vengeance. The rap itself has almost a "Red Hot Chili Peppers" feel to it, but the background music sounds like "Prince" in his "Alphabet Street" days. Then comes another great hip hop song, "Big Ole Head," which features more nice touches from the horn section.

The album also features the song "Orlando," a song Todd Snider would
be proud to call his own. This is perhaps my favorite song on the album, and features the ultimate slacker chorus: "I don't want to do a damn thing/ And I want to be appreciated/ I want to get paid well for it/ I don't want to be hated/ I don't want to do a damn thing/ Except lie in the sun/ And be loved loved loved loved by everyone."

Other songs on the album worth noting are the Beatlesque "Spacesuit," and the hard-rocking "Fastest Man Alive." Overall, the album contains 13 songs and over 50 minutes of music. It is a definite treat for the listener from a band that takes their music seriously, but don't take themselves seriously. This is music for the fun-lover, and fans of music that serves solely to entertain will really enjoy it. After this album, though, Austin music will never be the same.