[koolthing78]

Not owning "Nice Ass," I figured I should at least give it a quick cursory listen (via Amazon's 30-sec previews) before I launched into a blatantly one-sided response in favor of "Inherit." Having done that, I would say that it depends on what kind of Free Kitten stuff (or music in general) you prefer. If you like the "Seasick" song, you may want to go with "Nice Ass," because that sounded like it had more "structured" songs, with a fun, cheeky vibe (I love that line in "Proper Rock Band" (or whatever it's called): "Our guitars are always in tune / European tour starts in June"). That being said, the songs on that album sounded (upon brief listen) to be more punky and angular, whereas some might say "Seasick" is actually quite pretty. So if it's the "pretty" you like, then it's still hard to say. But let me just expand upon (some of) what I love about "Inherit." In the Ecstatic Peace promo, it kept talking about how this music was the embodiment of truth and honesty, and I totally see what they mean. It's not just the lyrics, though; it's the music itself. The wandering, experimental sound of many of the songs mask the underlying melodies and structures, especially on "Monster Eye" (which is worth the price of the cd in itself (and then some)). Upon first listen--at least to me--it sounded very loose and unstructured, just kind of whimsically meandering about. But the more you listen to it, the more the details start to pop out, grab your attention, and then an underlying structure--a real "A B A B C" etc. structure--does start to emerge, brilliant in its subtlety. I think this is what they were talking about, about the music not being a "movie lie" where the best parts are cut and pasted to make it easy to follow, yet sacrificing the authenticity inherent to the little details. To me, the music sounds like life--the beauty is there, but it's up to you to find it. So in my opinion, this album is absolutely essential. But if you are more interested in "songs," "Nice Ass" would also be an excellent choice (and after hearing the samples, I'm probably going to get it myself). ("Sentimental Education" is a great transition album between these two, with more "songs" than "Inherit," but its fair share of more experimental sounds (most notably the title track, which is just phenomenal, for many of the same reasons I cream over "Monster Eye."))