Oskar Tennis Champion

Momus returned to the international pop stage in 2003 with a new sound. Having relocated to Tokyo from New York City following 9/11, his music remains remarkably quirky, from the spoken word cut-and-paste experimentation of the opening track, "Spooky Kabuki," through the hidden 17th track, "The Ringtone Cycle." Continuing with his own self-described "cabaret concrete" experiments, on Oskar Tennis Champion Momus initially toyed with the oriental theater sounds of kabuki and Cantonese opera, before returning to his offbeat storytelling musical roots. The fragmented sound of computerized beats keeps the record interesting throughout, ranging from the relaxed sentimentality of "Scottish Lips" to the hushed elegance of "My Sperm Is Not Your Enemy." The toy piano and German lyrics on "A Little Schubert" add an international flavor to the disc, and the trance-like sounds and vocals on "The Last Communist" adds a refreshing edge to the collection. The gracefully eccentric lyrics are abundant, like the restrained "Electrosexual Sewing Machine" and the blissfully metaphoric "Lovely Tree." The disc also marks a change in Momus' production habits. Having mixed and produced his previous albums almost exclusively, he tapped the shoulder of 22-year-old Michigan producer John Talaga of the Super Madrigal Brothers, who creatively remixed the album's 16 songs. Reinventing himself yet again, Oskar Tennis Champion would surely please most Momus fans, though it does not match up to his best albums. It was released on his own American Patchwork label in March 2003.