They may occasionally look and sound like a cult (please also see: Polyphonic Spree, The), but it sure does sound like it’d be a lot of fun to be part of the Smith family. Daniel Smith is the head of this famile, forming a band out of his many brothers and sisters and taking them out on the road to play shows dressed up in nurse’s uniforms. First stop: his senior thesis defense.

Since those heady days, the Danielson Famile have defied simple description. Crazy? Don’t seem to be. Religious freaks? They’re no more fanatic than most Christians. Weird underground cult where the members drink Kool-Aid? Well, maybe I’d believe the Kool-Aid part. After all, some members of the band were just kids when they started. But for the most part, Smith and company just seem interested in playing their special brand of hyperactive, off-kilter folk-pop.

“Rallying The Dominoes” is typically atypical; aside from Daniel Smith’s formidable high-pitched voice, there’s a sense of barely-contained chaos, thanks to the start-stop pacing and the ever-present sound of toys sputtering away in the background. The call and response between Smith’s freakout-in-progress and the chorus of siblings is almost too precious. It’s surprisngly addictive, too, as is much of the rest of the album.