Oh, Jesus Fucking Christ. There is actually a group of Scottish bagpipe players who have christened themselves The Red Hot Chilli [sic erat scriptum] Pipers, which means that (A) somewhere in South America there is a group of Andean flute players known as The Red Hot Chilean Pipers and (B) at least one music critic, having suffered the embarrassment of purchasing this CD, consumed nearly an entire bottle of wine before giving it a listen.

Maybe it's the wine talking, or maybe it's just the wine talking, but The Red Hot Chilli (maybe the extra L is for the Ladies?) Pipers' self-titled release on the REL label is actually a pretty sweet combination of traditional Scottish music and some rather innovative and completely unexpected percussive elements. "Break Your Bass Drone" not only wins Song Title of the Year (or should have, whatever year this import came out), but cries out to be sampled and dropped into some (or any) DJ's next club mix.

All in all, this album is a fitting tribute to the memory of the late Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were tragically devoured by coyotes under a bridge in the hills of Los Angeles this past March. That said, one still wishes that these lads (maybe that's what the extra L is for?) would drop the gimmick, as it's clearly not needed:They're cool enough on their own. Then again, at least they didn't call themselves "Aire Supply," or "Scots Stapp," or any other silly name you thought of before finishing the first goddamn paragraph.

Verdict: Oh, Jesus Fucking Christ, this was really good.