Ookla the Mok vs. Evil, the sixth album by fandom convention favorites Ookla the Mok, is a vivacious paean to vainglorious villainy! The songs are witty, catchy, and incredibly nerdy. If you are a fan of comic books and good music, this is a must-own album.

Every single song on the album is devoted to bad guys. “Evil I” and “Mwahaha” are about evil in general, drawing references from geek culture sources ranging from James Bond to Disney to Doctor Who. “Mwahaha”, one of the stand-out tracks on the album, is mostly a bunch of quotes from famous fictional villains ornamented with some pretty impressive diabolical laughter. “The Other Side” is a Star Wars song about the benefits of giving in to your hate (and if you like Star Wars humor, be sure to check out the song “Tantric Yoda” on their EP Nerdvana).

The rest of the album is all comic books. DC villains are a bit under-represented compared to their Marvel counterparts with only Mister Mxyzptlk, Bizarro, and Lex Luthor having songs about them. The Lizard, Doctor Doom, Absorbing Man, the Wrecking Crew, Doctor Octopus, the Enchantress, and Kang the Conqueror lead the charge for the Marvel villains. “Mister Mxyzptlk” and “Absorbing Man” are each a single joke disguised as a short song. “The Lizard” and “Doctor Doom” are probably the weakest of the full-length songs, but many of the rest are clever and fun.

This album has been my constant soundtrack for almost a week now, and I still crack up at the end of the rap epic “Doctor Octopus (feat. Venom)”. The old-timey sound of “Kang the Conqueror” mocks one of Marvel’s more ridiculous characters: “Everybody’s Kang the Conqueror / Spider-Man, Iron Man, Ant Man, and Aimee Mann too / Everybody’s Kang the Conqueror / That policeman, the pizza man,  your mailman, and even me and you!”

My favorite song on the entire album is “Amora Adores Thor”. This is the earworm that stays stuck in my head after I stop listening. It’s a melodic 90’s style pop ballad of a sorceress’ unrequited love for a god and how she deals with the rejection:

“Heimdall, Fandral
She’s known them all, she’s done them all
Under Yggdrasil she’s had her fill
But she gets no thrill from Beta Ray Bill

Because there’s only one man in all the land
Amora can adore
She’ll sleep with Hercules
Or any jerk you please
But she loves the Mighty Thor”

It brings a tear to my eye every time…*sniffle*…

Ookla the Mok vs. Evil can be purchased at CD Baby and the other usual places on the internet. Visit Ookla the Mok on Facebook and tell them what you think!

(This article was originally published on Word of the Nerd 3/25/13.)