Turbonegro

PARTY ANIMALS

(Abacus)

Calling all denim demons and suburban anti-Christs! A mere rock band Turbonegro is not. Raw and referential, funny as fuck and fronted by the incubistic Hank Von Helvete, Turbonegro swallowed everything loud and good and true that had come before, added some snotty Norse mojo and kicked ass all through the '90s.

The lyrics were nihilistic, brilliant and obscene. They tossed out anthems of erections and pizza, suburban boredom and sodomy. The melodic intuition of guitarist Euroboy and the crash-bam capabilities of rhythm guitarist Rune Rebellion (not to mention Prince of Drummers, Chris Summers) brought to mind the Stooges, Cheap Trick, Judas Priest. Turbonegro conquered all, and after five albums broke up and vanished back to Oslo. But certainly not due to fading popularity: As lead "alpha motherfucker" Hank Von Helvete has said, the band "started out as a parody and ended up a revolution." Their following remains fanatical -- Turbonegro's world-wide fan club boasts some 400 chapters (one just started in Las Vegas).

The follow-up to their 2003 reunion smash Scandinavian Leather, Party Animals is more straightforward. Straight like the path of a bullet: but there's plenty of that queer posturing Turbonegro has become known for. (If memory serves, the tracks "If You See Kaye [Tell Her I L-O-V-E Her"] and "Hot Stuff/Hot Shit" are the first hetero love songs Turbonegro's produced, going all the way back to their '92 debut.) Tracks like "Blow Me (Like the Wind)" prove their sense of humor is firmly intact. There's less bombastic gutter regality than last time out, but it's just as anthemic, and just as goofy, revelatory and massive.

SKYLAIRE ALFVEGREN