If, as their band name suggests, Smiley Baldazar was trying to be odd, then they certainly and undeniably succeeded in that endeavor on their album “Relax, It’s Out of Control”.That is not to say that bands that tout their oddness aren’t successful because in an age where originality in the music industry pays off, the weirder the better. However, there is such a thing as too strange for one’s own good. Smiley Baldazar might fit into this category. It is worth mentioning that many groups are lauded for their ability to transcend the genre barrier and create a sound that fans of different kinds of music would enjoy. It seems as though Smiley Baldazar is trying to do this, and they do succeed because they managed to squeeze in at least six distinct styles of music into 16 songs. To that extent they are an innovative and clearly inventive group.It is also worth noting that their instrumentation is excellent, especially on the jazz centered “Local on the 8’s”, which is one of the best and most well thought out tracks on the album, and on “Fustercluck”, which has a very memorable guitar rift. On the other hand, Smiley Baldazar is all over the place with their vocals and the placement of their tracks that it is more than a little difficult to understand the point of all of this. Their vocals are literally hit or miss. On tracks like “How ‘Bout That Moon” the vocals are suitably trippy, but on others like the title tracks “Jewish Rye” and “Happy” they are downright strange to the point of aggravation. Most often, the vocals do not match with the music and serve as a distraction from the track as a whole. In fact, it keeps the album from being taken seriously. Some tracks are laughter inducing like the bizarre “Potato Bug Guinea Pig Dog” which is all of 27 seconds long and has only those five words. Look for the very satisfying pseudo-barbershop-quartette on several of the tracks, as it’s the highlight of the album. “Relax, It’s Out of Control” might be a little too apt a title.Rating: C