PANSY DIVISION
Total Entertainment (Alternative Tentacles)
Reviewed by Alan Wright

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It's been five years since the last CD from the world's premier gay pop-punk band, the excellent Absurd Pop Romance. With that album, the trio added Patrick Goodwin on second guitar for a heavier, crunchier sound. The resulting album was definitely more serious in tone, and much darker and raunchier - musically that is, since their lyrics are always pretty raunchy. On this one, they retain the heavier sound, expanding the musical palate a bit to include some wildly different styles but bringing back the sillier lyrics. I really like this a lot, and the only song I don't dig is the disco-ish "No Protection." Which features the dreaded vocoder. Everything else, though, rocks, especially the kick-off song "Who Treats You Right" and the garage-punk fuzzfest of "Alpine Skiing." Some pedal steel guitar and banjo are on hand for the countryfied "He Whipped My Ass In Tennis," and there's soul influences at work on the horn-fueled "No Protection" and "Scared To Death." Victor Krummencher of Camper Van Beethoven fame adds some nice acoustic work to the melancholy "Saddest Song."

© 2003 - Alan Wright