When I first reviewed Female Wrestler by Power Animal (a.k.a. Keith Hampson) in December 2009, I remember thinking where are those amazing tunes with the ridiculously long names that were on his MySpace. I actually felt bad that more people might not get to hear them. Well, I’m happy to see/hear that those tracks have re-emerged on Power Animal’s official debut full length People Songs released on Waaga Records, an offshoot of indie label Lefse (Neon Indian, Tape Deck Mountain). These bedroom recordings have returned more polished, but certainly have not lost any of their experimental pop goodness that makes People Songs its own unique animal among the herds of lo-fi artists grazing on the landscape of the indie music scene. The album puts you in a dream-like state where there are plenty of moments that you find yourself happily grooving out to the strangest mixtures of polyrhythmic beats and harmonies mixed with samples, handclaps, xylophones, banjoes and anything else that might make noise. The highlight of the album for me is (take a breath) “Dear My Body, I’m Not That Body. Dear Keith Hampson I’m Not Your Name. You Are A Shaky Boat With A Curse Upon It, But I Need You To Get To The Other Side Of The Lake.”, but with other favorites like “Money/Pocket”, “All I Can Hear Are The Bees”, “Birds Have Worries Too!”, “Copernicus”, “Sometimes” – actually just hit Play Repeat All and enjoy. Fun drugs definitely recommended while listening. myspace.com/poweranimalpa – Q.D. Tran