Oddball songs hit chord

'It's only because we play acoustic guitars that we say we are folk parodists; it's more a parody of folk parody,' grins Jermaine Clement, one-half of kooky Kiwi duo Flight Of The Conchords.

A from-nowhere smash in 2002, last year Clement and comedy partner Bret McKenzie became a cult hit. Their blend of oddball songs, priceless lyrics and poker-faced banter bagged them a Perrier nomination: consequently, the pair are tipped to land this year's Perrier and expectations for their new offering, Lonely Knights, are high.

'Yeah, they are,' muses Clement, 'for people who haven't seen us. Everyone else will have low expectations.' Such deadpan self-deprecation is inherent to FOTC's shtick, although Clement is giddy about Lonely Knights. 'We do dancing in it,' he beams. 'I like dancing, so I like this show more than the last one. It's a dancehall booty slam.'

That may be, but there's no doubt that FOTC is doing the oft-sullied reputation of musical comedy a world of good. The pair's pseudo-seriousness works because they actually have the musical talent to back up their comic conceit. Their tunes are infinitely hummable and their guitar-playing puts many chart toppers' way with an instrument to shame.

It wasn't always so ribtickling, mind; Clement and McKenzie started out as a bona fide band. 'The comedy just kind of slipped in,' says Clement, sheepishly. 'A lot of ideas were serious ideas, but we couldn't resist putting jokes in.'

Nor, it seems, could they resist the comedic pull of our simian friends. 'We have some monkeys... well, a mention of monkeys,' says Clement of the new FOTC show. 'We're very aware that people love monkeys and a lot of the better comedians mention monkeys. Our record company asked us to mention monkeys as a chance to get the popular vote.'

Flight Of The Conchords: Lonely Knights is at The Gilded Balloon until Aug 30 (not Aug 17). www.edfringe.com