Early noise, psychedelics and insanity are long gone, and have been since ‘Pure Guava’ in my mind. Though it’s ever appropriate to mourn this loss, there is a talent for song writing and demonstration of musical ability which has emerged from this quagmire. Once devoid of the youthful experimentalism of their past, Ween now pursue parody more blatantly and, matured, deliver conventionally appealing, multi-genre spanning songs. ‘Light Me Up’ sees a return to the Latin quarter, ever prominent in Ween, with no sign of decay while ‘Friends’ proves they aren’t just going to sit around and let the future pass them by as they pastiche Euro beat - new territory - and try to cram the word “friend” into the chorus more times than anyone ever has before. While the former proves an abundance of talent is still on offer, the latter shows Ween’s willingness to veer strikingly close to appearing novelty. Such is the nature of their career.

In most people’s eyes the peak of Ween’s musical parody style arguably came at ‘Chocolate and Cheese’, however, the legacy of albums pursuing a similar theme maintain a high standard. ‘The Friends EP’ seems open and undefined, reminiscent of ‘White Pepper’. It seems like they’ve been making songs which would all do for the same album for a good few releases. ‘Chocolate and Cheese’ was really the only example of this style of Ween’s coming off rounded and, though it isn’t much of a criticism, it demonstrates a degree of conservatism which foretells ‘La Cucaracha’ being little different from that which we have heard before.

If ‘The Friends EP’ is overspill of unwanted tracks from the forthcoming release, due out in late November, then it is prophetic of more fantastically crafted tracks and still an underlying sense of humour. Sounding very much like they did on ‘White Pepper’, and still as good, I would expect for ‘La Cucaracha’ not to disappoint. However, don’t expect much pioneering.

Alistair Clark