You Can Feel Me

is an enigma. The Minneapolis-based singer is one part performance artist, one part ironist, and one part darn fine singer. Even more compellingly, his live performances (he has opened for the likes of and , playing to huge audiences, including arenas) consist of , aka , singing his ueber-sexed tunes to a tiny disc player while dancing provocatively and slowly stripping down to his tighty whities. The kicker is that is a diminutive, profoundly out-of-shape, balding white guy. (His appearance has been quite accurately described as a cross between the actor and '70s porn star .) Adding to the inwardly tightening circles of confusion: , his sophomore effort, is a darn fine album. It certainly helps that the listening experience is stripped of 's visual presentation (the point of which may be to spoof the ludicrously soft-porn tendencies of modern , a la ). But is a genuinely funky, finely produced album that often bypasses white b-boy cheekiness. The slinky groove of which features an outstanding vocal performance by , is as strong as anything on the charts in recent years. At other times, however, the tongue goes back in the cheek, or at least somewhere near it, as with 's obtuse white-boy rap on which boasts such goofy platitudes as "I'm putting ladies on layaway/ I'm making very sexy installments" atop a gulping, funky bassline. Nevertheless, one thing is undeniable: cosmic joke or not, has put out a great record. ~ Erik Hage