Gothic Archies

Stephin Merritt is so facile he gets a lot of contract work, which whether or not it works in context comes off precious and miscellaneous on his other 2006 album, Showtunes. But these songs, aimed at the precocious youngsters who jones for the gleeful gothic gloom of the Lemony Snicket novels that have made sometime Magnetic Fields sideman Daniel Handler very rich, are of a thematic piece. Perfect for Merritt's melancholy baritone, they also satisfy his appetite for rhyme. "The world is a very scary place, my dear," Merritt intones. "It's hurled and it's twirled through outer space, I fear." Comedy record of the year. (Grade - A MINUS)