[Circus Company]

Stefan Kozalla has been on a roll for an unnaturally long stretch of time in the mercurial dance music community. His particular take on house music is generally full of humor, energy, and some of the most killer earworms in existence, and his first single for 2009 is no exception. “Mrs. Bojangels” kicks off with a bang, riding a bed of relentless percussion clatter and a flanged riff into near oblivion, but still tethered to earth by the gritty vocal samples and steady rhythmic pulse. A revelatory organ bursting like sunshine through the clouds at around the three minute mark leads to a glorious breakdown, but it doesn’t last and you don’t want it to. Everything is woozy, unbalanced, and slightly hallucinogenic like all of Koze’s best work, but the rough and ready percussion that winds throughout the track is just enough to keep it from drifting too far into the ether. The combination of the surreal and the gritty make it utterly irresistible and a must for repeat listens — I guarantee you missed something the first time through.

If “Mrs. Bojangles” displays a raggedly tough edge, flipside “Dr. Fuck” leaves it looking like a Burl Ives ditty. With a demented-sounding voice over and what sounds like a seriously treated accordion riff over some kitchen sink pings and bongs and Space Invaders noises, this is Koze at his most acidic, but with enough bizarro touches to make it more than a mere Chicago homage. It all seems to be held together with scotch tape and spit, but somehow it works, even with the beat disappearing for minutes at a time and some truly odd sounds that appear precisely when they’re least expected. It takes a special skill set to tread the line between madness and genius so delicately, and Koze does it here with style points to spare.