Published on May 19, 2005
With 2003’s
Scandinavian Leather settling the inevitable question about
Turbonegro’s ability to maneuver past cult hero status, the title
of this month’s release —
Party Animals — lends the nitwitted notion that the band
feels their previous effort was the blue ribbon achievement to what
is largely a superb catalog of full-length recordings. I can’t say
I agree, as
Scandinavian Leather was neither the shocking nor humorous
superior of the four Turbonegro albums preceding it. Truthfully, I
now find
Scandinavian Leather packing the same punch as a lukewarm
cup of decaffeinated coffee.
But, with that album spawning a new crop of fans, as evidenced
by the countless backing tracks MTV has given the band on shows
like
Jackass,
Viva la Bam, &
Wild Boyz, these six Norwegians have been forced to further
cut the homosexual & NAMBLA-istic overtures framing past songs
contributing to the band’s legendary deathpunk heritage. Let’s just
say that today’s “Blow Me (Like The Wind)” is no “Rendezvous With
Anus” in both shock value and more importantly musicianship and
leave it at that.
Obviously, it’s sad to say that with increased public exposure
comes the heightened responsibility of conformity. Maybe that is
what Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy once meant when he sang that “Nobody
Rides For Free.” I guess Pearcy’s intent doesn’t really matter as
Party Animals is an album flirting with mediocrity even
moreso than its predecessor, in being further handcuffed by the
fact it has no real schtick to fall back on. To live by the
schtick-sword, one must die by that same blade.
While tracks like “All My Friends Are Dead,” “Babylon Forever”
and “Death From Above” impress musically regardless of lyrical
content, a track like “City Of Satan” reeks in its attempt to cop a
1980s-era KISS vibe with a lot of what remains on the album failing
equally to inspire. Another big reason that some of the tracks on
Party Animals get really tedious is because guitarists Rune
Rebellion and Knut Schreiner (aka Euroboy) change their guitar
tuning into more of an obvious pop flavor such as what is found on
the track “Stay Free.”
Thankfully though,
Party Animals does pull off some old school trickery in
crafting the best song on the album, entitled “If You See Kaye.”
You don’t even have to hear the track to get the gist of the type
of songs that the band was once capable of frequently producing .
If I am losing you at this point, go back and chant the title of
this song 10 times fast. Actually, if you are English speaking and
it takes you more than one chant, move along, as Turbonegro in past
or present tense is probably not for you. To the point, this song
shines in anthem form with the obvious chorus set to several upbeat
timing sequences.
As much as I’d like to celebrate the advent of having another
Turbonegro album in my mitts, it’s not going to happen with this
new breed of party animals. Not unless, of course, it happens to be
at a club hall on Turbonegro’s next tour where fortunately the band
still puts on one of the best rock shows going these days.