''Growing Mold'' is the first studio album by the California comedy rock band

The Radioactive Chicken Heads The Radioactive Chicken Heads are an American virtual band formed in Orange, California in 1993. Operating anonymously under the guise of mutant chickens and vegetables, the Chicken Heads' music is primarily a mix of punk rock, heavy metal and ...

, independently released on the band's own label Snail Sounds Records on March 30, 2005.

Overview

The first studio album released by the Radioactive Chicken Heads following their name change from Joe and the Chicken Heads in 2004, ''Growing Mold'' also marked a change in sound from the band's early

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

influences into more eclectic and experimental territory incorporating rock, punk, new wave,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, a combination of styles which ''(un)Leash'' magazine described as "like early

Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo was an American surrealist street theatre troupe, formed by performer and director Richard Elfman in 1972. The group was led by Richard until 1976, when his brother Danny Elfman took over. The group evolv ...

meets

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

meets

gothabilly Gothabilly (sometimes hellbilly) is music genre influenced by rockabilly and the goth subculture. The name is a portmanteau word that combines ''gothic'' and ''rockabilly'', first used by the Cramps in the late 1970s to describe their somber bl ...

monster mash". ''Growing Mold''s low-key independent release flew under the radar of major music publications, but critical response from

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

s, university papers and

alternative weeklies An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting l ...

was largely positive. Of the more notable reviews,

UC Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in ...

s ''Highlander'' called the Chicken Heads "one of the best bands you've probably never heard of", praising the "delightfully eclectic" album's "sly, quirky humor" and "off-the-wall style". The ''

OC Weekly ''OC Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly paper distributed in Orange County and Long Beach, California. It was founded in September 1995 by Will Swaim, who acted as editor and publisher until 2007. The paper was distributed at coffee shops, ...

'', however, offered a more ambivalent opinion, noting that while the lyrics were "funny" and "the sonic nods to...sci-fi movie soundtracks are amusingly campy", the Chicken Heads "are a band that's best swallowed live" and that studio recordings "can never grasp the entire C-Head experience". Although ''Growing Mold'' didn't receive any conventional radio airplay, "I Eat Kids", a

cowpunk Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject mat ...

cover of a 1978 song by offbeat children's musician Barry Louis Polisar, was selected to air on the nationally syndicated

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

showcase The Dr. Demento Show in July 2005. In November 2006, the Chicken Heads appeared on an episode of ''

The Tyra Banks Show ''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010. While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...

'', performing "Our Last Song" as part of a

talent show A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are p ...

-themed episode which featured intentionally weird and unusual acts. The band ultimately lost their set to John the Running Painter, a painter on a treadmill, by an audience vote of 73% to 27%. "Pest Control" and "I Eat Kids" were later re-recorded and "I Looked into the Mirror (What Did the Mirror Say?)", was remixed for the Chicken Heads' 2008 album ''

Music for Mutants Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all human societies. Definitions of musi ...

'', each of which received music videos. Remixes of the original ''Growing Mold'' recordings of "Bag O' Bones", "Stitch Me Up" and "Our Last Song" were also featured on the album.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by

, except where noted otherwise.

Previous recordings

*"Pest Control" first appeared on several 1998 compilations before being officially released on Joe and the Chicken Heads' 2000 album ''Keep on Cluckin''.

Credits

;The Radioactive Chicken Heads Individual credits were not listed in the album's liner notes. Band roster at time of album's release: *Carrot Topp - vocals *Cheri Tomato - guitar *Bird Brain - guitar *Pastafarian - bass *Puke Boy - drums *Frankenchicken - keyboards *Bone Head - trumpet *El Pollo Diablo - percussion ;Additional musicians *Jeff Forrest - lead guitar on track 2 *Jason Krane - lead guitar on tracks 1, 4 and 5, rhythm guitar on tracks 2 and 10 *

Ego Plum Ego Plum (born February 27, 1975) is an American film composer, musician, and performer. He is best known for his work on ''The Cuphead Show!,'' ''The Patrick Star Show,'' '' Kamp Koral,'' ''SpongeBob SquarePants,'' ''Jellystone!,'' ''Making Fie ...

- guitar on track 8

References

External links

Growing Mold
on

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Growing Mold
on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

The Radioactive Chicken Heads Official Website
{{Authority control 2005 albums The Radioactive Chicken Heads albums 2000s comedy albums