Rob Crow: Lactose Adept

Rob Crow's tenure as the leader of San Diego's defunct Heavy Vegetable was packed with moments of restlessly creative brilliance: In 90 seconds, the band would shift moods and styles wildly, effortlessly tossing off buzzing hooks and beautiful harmonies in the process. Crow's first post-Vegetable solo album, Lactose Adept, takes his former band's listnessness and short attention span to new levels, and ultimately overdoses on forced quirkiness. Song titles like "Ode To Tile," "Who Takes My Recyclables" and "In a Perfect World All The Game Show Hosts Would Be Monty Hall" say it all about Lactose Adept: Twenty-nine basement-tape recordings whiz by in 38 minutes, but the zaniness isn't as endearing as Crow wants it to be—or as endearing as Heavy Vegetable was. It's cute in a few spots, pretty in others, but too precious for its own good.