If there's a complaint to be had, it's almost solely aimed at "Woman and Man," a meandering 11 minute Santana-esque jam that simply goes nowhere once the 3 minute mark is breached. That might be the point, that jam-band music goes nowhere. I'm not sure - all I know is that I simply don't want to sit through this too many times. It's just too punishingly boring to sit through to discover the hidden nugget of truth that, I hope, is buried somewhere in the song's meaning.

As usual, there are a couple of real surprises in store. Quebec had the beautiful "Chocolate Town" and the Pink Floydian "Transdermal Celebration"; White Pepper boasted the odd mid-tempo ballad "Stay Forever," and the gentle "She's Your Baby."

La Cucaracha is no different, except that the attitude has changed - it's not slower, gentler songs alone being used to showcase the band's strengths.

The first surprise opens the album. "Fiesta," with its bright, blasting mariachi horns, is the kind of high energy, boozy party theme that could land the band more attention than ever before - it sounds like nothing Ween has ever done before. In fact, Dean Ween told the UK magazine Bizarre that they hope that Taco Bell picks it up for use in commercials. Sadly, it's too much fun to ruin like that.

But it's "Lullaby" that might surprise the most - the title doesn't lie, and the song isn't a joke. Every once in a while, the guys from Ween sober up and do something actually serious, and this is when it's absolutely impossible to deny that these are talented musicians. "Lullaby" could nearly pass for - and I'd better prepare to duck as I write this - Tears For Fears. Pretty and delicate, all piano, strings, and harp, it's an actual moment of legitimate beauty from this band of known for often employing juvenile humor. It stands in stark contrast to so much else Ween does, but just adds to the reasons fans can use to refute attacks on their favorite band.

Hopefully it gives someone other than the die-hards a reason to pick this one up, too.