Wow. This really kind of stinks. And I say that as someone who will defend the Queers to my dying days, primarily because the idea of getting into a fight with my roommate in a nursing home about the Queers vs. Neurosis makes me almost okay with the prospect of shitting my pants. There’s still a ton of Beach Boys-esque harmonies, plus two songs co-written by Ben Weasel (including the amazing “Tangerine,” the best song on the album), three songs co-written by Lisa Marr, and a song about Brian Wilson. There’s also a definite Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds influence. How does this formula not create success? I could blame the song “Monkey in a Suit,” a political song comparing Bush to Hitler. (Note: The Queers should stick to writing about girls.) But if every song on this album was as good as “Tangerine,” this would be so cool. Alas, if this were a cereal, it’d be Cap ‘n Crunch. I can’t explain why I don’t like it, other than the fact that it once scraped my mouth and I started to bleed.
–maddy (Asian Man)