Fun Lovin' Criminals Album: “Mimosa (Lounge Album)”

Well, here the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the Fun Lovin' Criminals rears its head again. Serving as a one-album embodiment of the dichotomy between Come Find Yourself (FLC's awesome and energetic debut album) and 100% Colombian (the weaker and slothful follow-up), Mimosa is annoyingly schizophrenic, alternating fast-paced and memorable songs of the Come Find variety with droning, faceless ones like those that made up most of Colombian. If you liked the energy of Come Find Yourself, you'll love the opening track, Couldn't Get It Right, a spunky piece that is sure to get your toes tapping. The closing track, I'll Be Seeing You, features the same style of jazzy crooning (but is only 1:20 long! What a rip-off!). Fans of the slower, moody style of 100% Colombian will feel right at home with most of the middle tracks, like Shining Star, I'm Not In Love, and The Summer Wind. However, the album doesn't really offer more than a sampler of any one style, and that's what makes it so annoying. If it's meant to be fun to listen to, why are there depressing numbers like I'm Not In Love and The Summer Wind, and a sedated version of I Can't Get With That which lets all the air out of the original's tires? If it's meant as a "lounge album," why does it have a comical cover of Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train? In either case, why did they butcher perfectly good songs like Bombin' the L and We Have All the Time in the World with superfluous and silly remixes? (The luau-themed We Have remix is especially atrocious) And what in blazes is the uniquely spooky remix of Coney Island Girl doing there? While most of the songs are at least listenable, and several are actually quite good (Couldn't Get It Right and Coney Island Girl come to mind), the whole thing just doesn't gel... it has no idea where it's going or what it's trying to do. To add injury to insult, it will take a huge chunk out of your wallet because it's only available as an import. In the end, it leans more towards the 100% Colombian side, so if you liked that style more than Come Find Yourself, this might be worth looking into. But I would not recommend it to anyone expecting another Come Find Yourself, nor would I recommend it to anyone who is not already familiar with the FLC... it's too uneven to really give you any kind of idea what they're about.