Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Has it really been 16 years since the B-52s last released an album? More to the point, has it really been a shade under 20 years since Love Shack poured from every single radio station all summer long? It’s hard to fathom, both because it feels oddly recent, and more to the point of this review, the band’s new album, Funplex, pretty much picks up where the B-52s left off in the early 90s.

That previous album, Good Stuff, suffered from the pressure of having to follow up the B-52s commercial breakthrough, Cosmic Thing. 16 years later, divorced from the commercial presence of Nirvana and the grunge wave, and not toiling under the need to write another Love Shack, or Roam, the band has settled into a more natural mode, delivering a set of fun, mostly danceable rock numbers on Funplex. Songwise, the album is relatively hit or miss, with a few filler tracks interspersed among the ready-for-radio material. But to tell the truth, the B-52s are pretty close to being a critic-proof band. Either you dig the quirky approach to dance/rock music, and love Fred Scheider’s eternally weird vocals or you don’t. Regardless, you’re forced to admit that the B-52s are catchy as hell, and I found myself singing along to songs after just a couple of listen, even the ones I thought weak.

Pump starts off the reunion on a decidedly euro dance mode, the sleazily delivered opening lines setting the tone, “I look at you and I'm ready to pump/Luminous heartthrob ready to jump.” The return of Cindy Wilson to the band's recorded output after sitting out Good Stuff, pays dividends immediately, as she brings the next lines with a more playful tone. All three vocalists figure into the chorus, showing off their still stellar interplay, as they exhort you to, “Pump it up/Give it up/Turn up the track.”

Schneider’s voice, while unique, isn’t entirely required for the band’s success, as shown by Juliet of the Spirits, which feature just Wilson and Pierson on vocals. While the track retains the electronic vibe, the heavy dance feel is shelved for what turns out to be the most straight ahead rock track on Funplex. The dance stuff returns with a vengeance on the next track, the titular, Funplex, which starts out declaring, “I’m a pleasure seeker shopping for a new distraction/I’m a pleasure seeker looking for some platinum action.” That line pretty much captures the casual raunchiness running through, the entirety of the album, and perhaps captured best on two of the best tracks on the CD, the tongue in cheek, Love in the Year 3000, and the sparkling, Deviant Ingredient. I’d forgotten about that facet of the B-52s personality over the years. I’m amused by the thought of parents,  holding on to fond memories of Love Shack, listening to this disc with their kids, and getting a shock hearing the line, “Robot/Bootybot/Erotobot.”

The band closes out the disc in full rocking mode with, Keep This Party Going, with one last amusing note. In the midst of a list of hot party spots like Athens, London and Paris, Schneider drops my former residence of Detroit. It brought a smile to my face, as did the “Dean scream” he employs to close out the album for good. It’s an appropriate coda to a disc that delivers what you’d expect from the B-52s, a fun, catchy ride through New Wave-laced dance grooves. All I can say is, “Welcome back!”