Long-awaited album is a must-have for fans

At long last, Flight of the Conchords, New Zealand's fourth-most popular folk parody duo, has released the follow-up to their critically acclaimed, self-titled full-length debut. Comprising songs from season two of their eponymous Emmy-nominated HBO television series, "I Told You I Was Freaky," offers up a fresh batch of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie's unique blend of wit and humor mixed up in a more adventurous assortment of musical stylings than the two have previously put to record.

Throughout much of the album, Clement and McKenzie delve into a much wider array of song styles than in its predecessor, ranging from '80s synth pop ("Fashion is Danger"), to sea shanty ("Petrov Yelyena and Me"), to R&B ("We're Both In Love With A Sexy Lady") and even a capella ("Friends").

Also included are the riotous rave anthem "Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor," and the sensitive-guy rap "Hurt Feelings"- both among the biggest highlights of season two. The humor in both holds up strongly when stripped down to just the audio.

While the increased variety works well within the context of the show, where songs were spread out within the episodes, it leaves the album feeling disjointed and uneven at times. "Fashion is Danger" and "Demon Woman" are weakened outside of the context of the storylines they were used in, lacking the sharpness of wit the other tracks possess.

The duo admitted to struggling to write new songs for season two of the show, having used up so much of their catalog in season one. Whether it's because of that or merely a stylistic decision, many of the songs on "I Told You I Was Freaky" tend to be directly inspired by other songs instead of the more thematic parodies found on their full-length debut.

The back-and-forth R&B duet "We're Both In Love With A Sexy Lady," which contains some of the album's wittiest lyrical exchanges between Clement and McKenzie, is a bitingly clever spin-off of the R. Kelly and Usher song "Same Girl." "You Don't Have To Be A Prostitute" was written in the same vein as the Police's "Roxanne," while "Carol Brown" is an airier take on Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover," evidenced when Clement sings "there must 50 ways that lovers have left me."

While the album is not a complete soundtrack from season two - the duo's ode to epileptic dogs and "Stay Cool Bret" from the "Tough Brets" episode are two noticeable omissions - "I Told You I Was Freaky" is a must-have for Conchords fans.