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B-52s: 'Funplex'Bawdy goofiness still band's hallmark
Published on: 03/25/2008 ROCK
"Funplex"
B-52s. Astralwerks. 11 tracks.
Grade: C+
"Funplex" is the first studio album from the B-52s in 16 years, and it sounds like in their cosmic world, not a single day has passed.
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The Athens, Ga., pioneers still know how to ride a jangly guitar and outrageous — and usually incomprehensible — lyric straight to the dance floor.
The interplay between Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson and Fred Schneider is exactly how even a passing fan would remember it from their top 10 1989 hits "Love Shack" and "Roam." Pierson and Wilson's voices remain bright, absolutely delightful and southern, where Schneider holds fast to his signature of parsing all of that glee with offbeat, professorial declarations like "Hard kiss! Love chain!"
And the best thing about this is the bawdy goofiness they've trafficked in since their 1979 self-titled debut. After all, who else could possibly have the whole world singing, "I-I-I'm looking for some fun, waiting for the bus from Winder to come," except the same people who made "Rock Lobster(s)" real? Exactly — the B-52s.
— Sonia Murray

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