Maybe this excessive mess makes more sense as a complement to the Idlewild movie, but on wax, OutKast have seriously lost the plot. Their well-honed flamboyance has finally given way to full-blown pretension, the lyrics that used to be an afterthought hidden behind a painfully contrived yet musically unimpressive ragtimey veneer of muted trumpets, shoo-bop, shoo-wahs and happily jingling vaudeville pianas. It's all so delightfully, spectacularly whimsical that it's hard to determine what the fuck they're talking about any more. Despite the overlong 80-minute run time (thank you, multiple unnecessary interludes and 14 guest cameos), all the nu 'Kast seem interested in expressing is how eccentric they are, which does nothing for me. I do, however, feel deeply embarrassed to hear André warbling off-key as if he's doing his worst Sammy Davis Jr. impression.