(Weewerk, Jan. 15, 2008)

Electric Ukulele, eh? Well, I’ll bite.

That was my attitude going into Happy Birthday, the latest release from The Burning Hell, as all I had heard about this album was that Mathias Kom, the man behind the Peterborough, Ontario outfit, was a “ukulele sensation.” Given this tidbit I pressed play with curious trepidation, expecting a kitschy, one-trick effort that would limp through a full listen and then languish at the bottom of the pile of albums by other novelty acts. Thankfully, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In fact, I was instantly caught off guard by the album’s quirky charm. Kom’s deadpan baritone draws immediate attention to the black comedy behind his lyrics (“We’ll never get married/ I’m dating your sister/ and everything you believe is a lie”) and the ukulele doesn’t play nearly as much of a pivotal role as I’d expected. Often accompanied by drums, strings or left-field instruments like accordion, melodica and glockenspiel, and featuring complementary backing vocals and duets, I actually forgot the “ukulele sensation” prefix as I listened to Happy Birthday and instead just enjoyed it as a charming folk album.

That said, a few spins later when the veil of novelty lifted, I couldn’t help but hope that somewhere along the line Leonard Cohen was getting a cut from this album, as the similarities become glaringly obvious. Seriously, “Everbody Knows” could fit on Happy Birthday without missing a beat. Not only are Kom’s vocals nearly identical in some cases, but the production on tracks like “I guess I’ll be Seeing You” and “What Do you Get for the Man Who Has Nothing” leaves me wondering if they wouldn’t fit on an unreleased Cohen collection.

Thankfully for the Burning Hell, there’s still enough off the wall charm on Happy Birthday to save it. Songs like “Dinosaurs” and the ridiculous zombie-romp, “Grave Situation Pt.1,” for instance, are undeniably fun and witty, and the album’s closer, the appropriately titled “Goodbye Ukulele,” is an endearing crescendo reminiscent of a child kissing each of his stuffed animals goodnight before going to bed (come on, we all did it…).

Sure, my expectations were low going into this album, but even given the aforementioned criticisms I still came out with a smile on my face and an urge to learn the ukulele.

Quirky and full of melodic wit, Happy Birthday is the most fun that Leonard Cohen ever had (I mean that in a good way).

It’s been brought to my attention that my Cohen comparison might have come across as a little more harsh than I intended (it’s definitely half complimentary). What can I say, I’m new at this and made the mistake of initially using the word “stolen” in the above review. My intention wasn’t to say anything nefarious, as I thought I had made it clear that I was a fan of the album in question, but in any case my wording has since been changed.

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Check out a track from Happy Birthday below (right-click, “Save Link As” to download):

The Burning Hell - Dinosaurs

Listen to more at the Burning Hell’s Myspace page and buy a digital copy of the album here (Zunior’s in the midst of a half-price sale on Weewerk albums, so right now you can get the whole release for only $4.44)