I am enough of a turbo-geek to oscillate between loving smart rock bands and thinking, "cool, these guys are geekier than I am." The Slats prove that clever, slightly geeky rock can be enjoyable for its simple declarative style, while making one’s inner language nerd smirk to hear the terms "masticating mandibles" in a song.

What is appealing here is the artistry of the songs, not the quirky, zany exhilaration of the old-school masters of the art, They Might Be Giants. If you listen carefully, you hear musical jokes as well as word games, as in "The New Moonshine," which resembles nothing so much as an instrumental rehash of Jane’s Addiction’s "Summertime Rolls."

The album is not without its weaknesses: its math rock-ness can be repetitive after a while, and some tracks could have used a bit more reworking in the studio. But, if you enjoy the sense of humor these Minnesotans have – track titles such as "I Believe Timothy McVeigh" and "The Fabric of My Brass Knuxxx" – this is certainly worthy of your disc player. (7/10)