Throughout
their decade or so of existence, the most daunting challenge
for the Pocket FishRmen (aside from the inevitable personnel
changes) has been to somehow transpose the adrenal rush of their
live shows onto an album without the benefit of Eddie Kramer
or Jimmy Iovine at the board. Although you'll still miss the
sight of Brant Bingamon in disco ball bikini briefs, Heroes
of Modern Perversion comes very close to approximating the band's
many live charms. The raw, echoing production goes a long way
toward giving the FishRmen that bigger-than-life sound they
deserve. And who can argue with the song selection? Purists
may give the band grief for resurrecting older material like
"Amy Carter" and "The Leader Is Burning," but it's not like
those songs got their just due the first time around. Besides,
the classics segue quite nicely into powerful new material like
the "Closer to Home"-style epic, "Gay Jew Conquistador Trilogy,"
and the painfully real acoustic interlude, "Cry Me a River That
Leads to Your Pussy." Heroes of Modern Perversion may be an
album-long dick joke, but with Bingamon at the lyrical helm,
you're getting a twisted Eastern intellectual cum revolutionary
brand of dick joke that Noam Chomsky might tell if he did stand-up.
This is a barrel of lurid punk rock fun that is sure to ring
sweetly in the ears of enlightened minds congregated in the
gutter. (3.5 stars) -- Greg Beets
"Amy
Carter" 7", Electric Lord, `87
"Leader Is Burning" 7", Noiseville, `88
"Sodom & Gomorrah" 7", 50 Skadillion Watts, `90
"Fantasy Elevator Ride" 7", Over & Out, `92
Future Gods of Rock CD, Austin Throwdown/Sector 2,
`95
Check
out their web site: http://www.eden.com/~fishrmen/
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