True, the Cramps‘ costumes, moniker, song titles, music, etc., all seem like the epitome of jump-on-the-new-wave-bandwagon pretension. And much of its metallic, eccentric music could have been produced by your average 1960s psychedelic garage band. Nevertheless, there are most definitely moments on Songs the Lord Taught Us—moments when crass imitation gives way to clever parody, moments when pure ambition is supplemented by real invention.