Steel Panther is on the prowl again with their 6th album of questionable pleasures and delight and believe me this is a hot and sticky one! If you thought that things might change with the departure of Lexxi Fox then think again as he’s still very much in everyone’s thoughts and even name-checked on the opening track.
There’s a nice sleazy Metal meets Van Halen thrust to ‘Never too Late’ the distinctly in your face opener to the latest Steel Panther and that’s just how we like it. In these days of rapidly deteriorating rights of free speech just play ‘Friends With Benefits’ to anyone you’re not sure of – its lyrically the surefire way of finding out if they’ve drunk too much cool aid and are about to cancel you.
You’re still with us? That’s great you’re one of us!
The interesting thing two tracks in is that we are sounding much more Metallic on this release – sonically it has echos of early Panther and that is rather magnificent. Want more social commentary? The gentle ballad ‘On Your Instagram’ is the one for you. Steel Panther ride that line wonderfully well they know the world is falling in all around us but hey “let’s party” right? It’s better than the alternative.
‘Put My Money Where Your Mouth Is’ a nice dirty ditty before comes the album standout. ‘1987’ is a love song to that year! Name-checking the big bands of the year before adding gentle memories like ‘cocaine off a 19 year old breasts’ but there’s social realism too “back then the friends we had were real and we saw them every day and no one once got cancelled for the things that they might say” Beautiful stuff!
‘Teleporter’ that follows adds some classy guitar and warns of the dangers of white pants and other awkward situations; and ‘Is My D**k Enough (feat. Dweezil Zappa)’ – the mention of ‘Zappa’ in the title of course cancels out the mention of ‘D**k’, is a song that manages to strut, tackle important issues and feature the word ‘circumference’ – the latter a feat only Rush probably ever managed*.
If you want more then ‘Magical Vagina’ is yet another anatomical love song with a chorus that is just made to sing along to – imagine a room belting that back to you it’s pure love! The self-aware self-love of All That And More’ follows to a mid-tempo beat before ‘One Pump Chump’ explores the sensitive topic of PE.
We close in pretty much the same vein: first ‘Pornstar’, um well, you’ll just have to listen to that ode to one’s significant other, before ‘Ain’t Dead Yet’ brings it home acoustically, reflecting on the trials and tribulations of old age, replete with a seriously great vocal from Ralph. Closer ‘Sleeping On The Rollaway’ rocks it up nicely with a touch of bouncy Pop not a million miles from Green Day! It’s an interesting way to close an album that more than manages to ‘keep it up’ till the end.
8/10
*not fact checked at all.
TRACKLISTING:
1) Never Too Late (To Get Some Pu**y Tonight)
2) Friends With Benefits
3) On Your Instagram
4) Put My Money Where Your Mouth Is
5) 1987
6) Teleporter
7) Is My D**k Enough (feat. Dweezil Zappa)
8) Magical Vagina
9) All That And More
10) One Pump Chump
11) Pornstar
12) Ain’t Dead Yet
13) Sleeping On The Rollaway