Deservedly gaining in terms of recognition, stage and studio time, mad-genius man-about-town Ratty Scurvics kicks off A Wooden Nickel on Fire with a bang—a blistering dance-hall romp in “Bananas,” a tune packing enough bounce, groove and instrumental weirdness to create sonic textures as fun and catchy as Lee “Scratch” Perry’s frenetic dub.

An entertainer and a musician, he offers in “Bananas” a litany of goofy-whack lyrics that should spawn plenty of party sing-alongs, wailing with him to boast, “I’m not artichokes about you baby/ I’m bananas about you baby.” A Wooden Nickel on Fire melds Bowie-esque moments and Pink Floyd-trippy (though a bit redundant) jams with solid songwriting (as in the prayers cast on “Mistake”). Familiar fans and the curious will dig this release by mold-breaking local figure dancing toward Nola-celebrity status.