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Everything In Excess The Impotent Sea Snakes |
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Blasphemy meets burlesque in a futuristic, exotic sort of way. One of Cleopatra's true originals, these guys (and girls) put the "X" in sex and then come back for sloppy seconds… A warning label of a group in every imaginable sense, it's the old Sex, Drag and Rock & Roll thing done with porn-like precision… Who was that one guy and all girl band out of Germany a couple years back that was exceeding the limits of decency and flaunting their wares for all to see? Well no matter, here's the U.S. version boys and girls, so cover your eyes, open your ears and sit back and enjoy. Now before ya go thinking this is a modern day example of yesterday's poseur Rock and groupie lust, take a deep breath cuz the music's pretty intense. There ain't no gum flapping about boys nite out and tongue-in-cheek back of the car antics-these guys are the real deal and there ain't been none so bold in… probably since the early seventies and on stage fashion shows like Bowie, Iggy, Bolan and Alice and… we all know what a culture shock that turned out to be. The tunes are quirky, cutting edge, bold and direct, not exactly of the sing-along in the shower variety… though "shower" might be thought of as an operative term in this rare instance! The Impotent Sea Snakes have shared the stage with the likes of The Misfits, WASP and Motorhead in their still early existence and considering the gala event these ten fashionably freaky character actors must put forth, it's liable to get a lot wilder than any of the preceding. You got guys dressed in drag on the one side, well endowed females… well two that I could actually distinguish and here's to hoping I'm not making a crucial error here, and their reputation will precede them but they got some catchy titles tied into the (tied up?) theme here-"Let Go O' My Thang," "Slam Ya," and the joys of role playing to extremes, "You're My Vampire," a seventies' styled swing with a Gahan-like croon that sort of creeps up and bites ya in the ass sudden like… "It's Only Life," again throwin' back to yesterday with a more constrained skittish type that recalls The Dolls or even Alice at his rootsiest height of dementia… and one more, let's go with "The Resurrection Of Rock & Roll" because for all these guys might do at least in the near term, you ain't gonna be watchin' 'em up on stage plucking their instruments and learning the latest dance move… this one's a bit darker with a headier groove then the others, some nice chops but a flat chorus-damn, if I didn't know better I'd swear this is straight outta the GWAR songbook… surprise, surprise, huh? Fucked up and freaked out but in a much more grown up sort of way! "Everything In Excess," is a panoramic presentation into every mother's nightmare, every politician's crusade, and a surefire stimulant for expulsed youths looking to get some strange… Released by Cleopatra Records Review by Vinnie Apicella
[va85@columbia.edu] |