For Ween, the extravagantly bizarre is normal, whether it applies to topic, structure or nothing at all.

From two of the most demented, yet loved, minds in music comes a fresh heaping pile of b-sides.

Gene and Dean Ween have shoveled together 12 unreleased tracks from the past few years onto “Shinola,” which doesn’t play like an album of junked tracks not fit for pressing, but like any other of the numerous offerings the band has drummed up out of who knows where over the years.

Ween’s music is addictive. And like any controlled substance, the first time can make one severely sick, or push the unsuspecting person right over the edge.

The addicts, on the other hand, thirst for more sanity in the madness, which “Shinola” pleasantly quenches. For Ween, the extravagantly bizarre is normal, whether it applies to topic, structure or nothing at all.

“Shinola” reaches the masses tailing “Quebec” (2003) and picks up crumbs of the maturing process that became slightly apparent a few years ago.

As frontman Gene Ween continues to gain more headway in the battle with drugs, the metaphorical nonsense and vulgarity are increasingly becoming elements of the past. To the avid listener, the uniquely solid guitar work and many volatile voices combine, resulting in harmony and melody running nakedly free.

The songs in the new album come from a number of split records with bands like Monique the Freak. Each song is its own strange crossbreed. Depending on one’s level of sensitivity, different songs will make you laugh, cry and dance, or possibly curse, convulse and run.

It is rumored, through somewhat credible sources, that a single from “Shinola” has somehow snuck onto local radio frequencies. For open-minded listeners, the first play won’t be the last.

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