When you listen to Homelife, a variety of influences and comparisons will come to mind. There is ample evidence of the Flaming Lips' psychedelic pop tendencies, the Beatles harmonic oddities, the running theme-based song selections of David Bowie in Ziggy Stardust mode, and a healthy amount of Elephant 6 nods to round out the mix. This is psychedelic pop by any definition of the term, but Your Team Ring doesn't sound like a hodge-podge of popular psych-pop moments; rather, Homelife plays like a solid and distinctly unique work that could easily stand on its own. Though the album's core is firmly planted in the psychedelic arena, many other touches (Mid-Eastern instrumentation, self-admitted "tin-pan alley buffoonery" and even a smidgen of folk, for example) make periodic appearances, setting Your Team Ring apart from the plethora of other psych-pop dabblers.

The songs on Homelife are said to assemble a science-fiction story of sorts. The tale itself, though slightly difficult to dissect and perhaps even harder to comprehend, includes themes of Jekyll and Hyde-like clones, the living dead and -- even more frighteningly -- mechanical ants. On "Brother Clone", the story comes into (admittedly soft) focus with the lyrics, "My face, your own / Brother Clone / My life, your own / Brother Clone / Genetic farm / you've been the charm!" If I'm interpreting this correctly (and believe me, the chances are slim), the album's second-to-last song, "The Ol' Switcharoo" doesn't imply a happy ending for our clone creator. Lyrics like "Won't tell you any lies, my dear friend / You're about to die, at your life's end / Nothing left but bone on your face / But I've brought your clone to this space," may be open to interpretation, but you must admit, it doesn't look good for our intrepid mad scientist. (I suppose it could also be interpreted to mean that although he is to soon die, he at least will live on in the form of his clone. But is it really my job to make this stuff make sense?)

The magnificent thing here is that even after a dozen listenings, you may not have any idea what the real story is -- but it doesn't matter very much. The music, at once strange and gripping, justifies repeated listenings on its own. If you have a soft spot for theremins, melotrons and bizarre vocal effects, you'll find a slew of songs to enjoy on Homelife, regardless of its crypic subject matter. Sci-Fi Channel addicts, on the other hand, will find a strange and puzzle-like theme to interpret and discuss on some website forum for hours. If anything is going to tear you away from the TV for a bit, Homelife is it.