I have it on good authority, from an impeachable source, that the common vexing thread linking songwriters such as XTC's Andy Partridge or Robyn Hitchcock is the "Q" word. You know... quirky. I'd like to extend amnesty here, but it really does fit James Kochalka to a "Q," sharing as he does Andy or Robyn's ability to tell truths within a story, with enough humor and wit to make the point, and enough vision to see it through. He can call himself SuperStar, he's earned it here. From the celebratory juvenalia of "Bad Astronaut," to the quirky (there, I said it) "Beautiful Christmas Lights," there is such a sense of fun in the late '70s punk and early '80s new wave references here, like in "Peanut Butter And Jelly-Fish" with a keyboard riff that recalls the much-missed Magazine. It's that good. My favorite track may be "Ocean Of Girls." It gets quite majestic towards the end, kinda like a Grand Funk concert where they play "I'm Your Captain/ Closer To My Home" (except here, you don't want them to stop), but then again, you gotta love the warning-too-late cry of "Put Down The Gun" with its curt line, "Courtney is a liar/Shut your fuckin' Hole." Cute. Harsh, but cute. At a very generous 30 tracks, first-time listeners may want to try to take in only a couple at a time, unless you think you can take it. There, see? You buy a CD, you get a new hobby to go with it. All that, and a mini-comic too. God bless JKS.