Comedy albums are hit and miss. But Ninja Sex Party’s 5th original album, The Prophecy, is one of the best that they have released.
After 12 years and 8 albums together, duo Danny Avidan and Brian Wecht work together seamlessly. Avidan plays the sexed-up, spandex-clad Jewish superhero-with-no-powers Danny Sexbang, while Wecht is the silent mass-murderer Ninja Brian. A strange combination, but one that will never fail to make you laugh.
The album opens with an introduction, before segueing into the 11-minute epic ‘The Mystic Crystal’, which tells the tale of Danny and Ninja Brain going on an epic quest to free a princess kidnapped by a necromancer. This was the first single from the album, and an extremely fitting one. It doesn’t feel like just one song – the style changes several times, and the story is genuinely funny. In one memorable section, Danny tries to defeat the evil necromancer with love, only to get his legs broken and for Ninja Brian to kill the necromancer by using Danny as a club. In the same vein as their other long song, the 9-minute 6969, it spins together a bizarre, fun story that grips you throughout.
My favourite song on the album has to be the ballad ‘Wondering Tonight’. While at first it seems like a mournful rumination on lost love, it turns out Danny Sexbang is just wondering who his ex is banging now. However, while the lyrics are raunchy and ridiculous, Avidan’s voice is just beautiful.
Without a doubt, the funniest song on the album – and in my opinion, one of the funniest songs NSP has penned – is ‘Welcome to My Parents’ House’. About bringing home a girl while your parents are home and being told to keep it down by your mum, it really hit home with me, and made me think about all the times as a 16-year old I’d come home with a boy or a girl and try to spirit them away to my bedroom without my parents trapping me with embarrassing questions.
Interspersed between songs are little skits that add to the comedic value of the album. My personal favourite is about the wishing bear, but all of them are fun little interludes to break up the album.
You can’t discuss a Ninja Sex Party album without looking at the music videos. Always high concept, most are either fully or partially animated, beautifully shot, and telling a story throughout. ‘Wondering Tonight’, while the lyrics are infinitely sad, there is something incredibly funny about seeing all the romantic moments between Danny Sexbang’s lost love and her new man with Ninja Brian in the background of every shot. While we don’t yet have a music video for ‘The Mystic Crystal’, the preview shots and animation look incredible and will be well worth the wait.
In an interview with Vanyaland, Avidan and Wecht opened up about what their favourite part of recording the album was. Wecht replied that it was working in the legendary LA studio Sunset Sound, where artists such as The Doors and Elton John have recorded, saying that ‘all of these incredible artists have worked there, and being in that space and doing our songs about wizards and dicks and stuff felt like we were really a part of history’.
The Prophecy is now available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music!
