Described in the press release as "Cartoon music from hell", E250 is a marriage of super human musical talent (Todd Duane: Guitar & Bass, Lale Larson: Key Boards, Peter Wildoer: Drums) and outrageous cartoon inspired songwriting. What the hell does that sound like? Try to imagine these guys collectively scoring a Benny Hill directed 50's cartoon car chase, and you're well on the way.

The opener 'Fletcher the Mouse' sets the tone for the whole crazed outing. Duane becomes Dick Dastardly on this track, playing with chin scratching precision and moustache twirling menace, Lale Larson unleashes more manic invention than go go Inspector Gadget, whilst drummer Peter Wildoer somehow contains Todd Duane's whiplash inducing speed to lay down a groove tighter than Cartman's jockstrap. If Benny Hill was directing this Cartoon, he's just set the frame rate to meltdown...and these guys are keeping up!

Cleverly arranged 'comedy' musical interludes are splattered throughout 'Fletcher' (and virtually every other tune) which reflect the inspiration from incidental cartoon music, and being a big fan of cartoons I found this to be appealing and amusing in equal measure. A fun experiment is to crank this tune, close your eyes and let the cartoon create itself...I kept getting Itchy and Scratchy dueling with bolt cutters.

Surprisingly for a modern studio album, each member of the E250 super group takes a respective minute and a half solo. 'Gee Whizz' finds Duane in vintage form, cranking out perfectly executed string skipping and picking sequences with fiercesome accuracy and speed. Impressive though this is, you kind of get the feeling Duane is on auto pilot firing out these licks with automaton ease. I'd love to hear him stretch out more. In contrast to this, Lale Larson's piano solo 'Loony Tune' is off the cuff genius combining the hilarity of a magnum toting Coyote and speed of a seriously panicked Road Runner.

Beyond the audacity of these guys daring to have fun, the best aspect of E250 has to be the almost psychic musical interplay between Larson and Duane. If you've ever wondered what the physical outer limit of guitar playing sounds like, 'Dr Fluffels' and 'Ridiculosous' drop the gauntlet. As Larson's lines quickly become mind numbingly complex, Duane somehow cops every keyboard idea on guitar. This sounds like deliberate taunting from Larson and you can imagine "try that" being beamed across the studio.

Recorded between May 2000 and the summer of 2001 E250 has been a long time in coming, but the timing has worked. Music that mixes humor and shred now has a market, (largely thanks to Bumblefoot) and E250 is the perfect vehicle for main lining this strange, but curiously captivating musical hybrid.

E250 is fast, furious and well,funny.