Jad Fair + Hifiklub + kptmichigan: "Let's Win"

Thank God for Jad Fair. After a 35-year career (most notably as leader of seminal punk band Half Japanese), he seems to be constantly working, whether it’s on solo material, collaborations, or art exhibitions. And despite being of retirement age, Fair can out-weird any young upstart, thriving always on a ramshackle, creepily homemade experimental sound. On his new EP Bird House, he teams up with French experimental rock trio Hifiklub and drone artist kptmichigan for a cluster of songs to accompany an art exhibition at Le Dojo in Nice.

Though the EP functions as a whole, “Let’s Win” is probably the best track to take on its own—catchy in that loony Half Japanese way yet a bit swampier. There’s no gleeful out-of-tune guitar playing here but instead some eerie baseball-style organ and other ambient sounds (a baby crying?), quietly building while Fair postures like some half-crazed motivational speaker: “Good plus good plus good plus good plus good…equals great.” For any Jad Fair fan, his quavering voice and intense rambling should be enough, and “Let’s Win” bolsters lines like “Diamonds and rubies on our plate / And I cannot wait” with a sound that’s equal parts menacing and playful; a little slide guitar at the end diffuses things nicely.

“Let’s Win” is but a trifle from Fair’s crowded psyche, but it’s memorably and satisfyingly unhinged. Stay weird, Jad—stay weird forever.