The B-52s - 'Funplex'

I may need to check the math on this one, but I’m pretty sure I ate fluffernutters every day of my life from grades two through six. The creamy peanut butter, delicious yet incredibly sticky marshmallow fluff and ho-hum white bread made for a tasty meal, the kind I could pretend was nourishing but probably wasn’t. Way too sticky, way too sugary after the first few bites and, thanks to my high school conversion to vegetarianism, way too out of the question. Damn horse hooves.

In a stretched out way, listening to The B-52s (note the new apostrophe-less name!) are my aural equivalent of a fluffernutter. At first, the band’s new record Funplex sounds like a tasty idea, and initial listens show that all the ingredients are still great. Female vocalists Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson are the group’s smooth, protein-laden peanut butter, and it’s kind of crazy how these two sound just as lush together here as they did on 1979’s The B-52’s. These women can sing. Pierson turns 60 this month, but her pipes are in better form than some singers’ less than half her age, let alone her contemporaries.

Then, there’s the band’s other vocalist, marshmallow fluff equivalent Fred Schneider. Admittedly, his Sprechstimme style is just spoken word, but it’s still cool to hear him dishing out non-sequiters in his trademark sassy Southern voice. Lines like “Faster pussycat/Thrill!/Thrill!” and “There’s a rest stop/Let’s hit the G-spot” couldn’t possibly come from anyone other than him.

Finally, the white bread. A lot of critics exalt The B-52s’ mix of surf rock and new wave, but the group’s instrumental compositions, first by Ricky Wilson and later by Keith Strickland, didn’t catch up with the vocals until 1989’s Cosmic Thing. On Funxplex, Strickland keeps the group’s surf rock base, but goes towards more of a discothèque sound here. This is further enhanced by Steve Osborne’s ultra-shiny production.

But while most of the band’s classic elements are in place, The B-52s fall short on Funplex. Yeah, the vox are great, but there’s a limit to the fun to be had here, much like eating a sandwich stuffed with marshmallows. While Schneider’s random lyrics have their moments, like on the sex-crazed “Ultraviolet” or “Funplex,” he mostly gets tedious and repetitive, especially on “Eyes Wide Open.” I’m still not sure how I feel about the lines “I am an eroticist/I am a fully eroticized being/No more neuroses,” from “Deviant Ingredient,” but I’m fairly certain I’ve been traumatized.

As for Pierson and Wilson, it’s strange—they’ve got great pipes, but they seem underutilized compared to the soaring harmonies of Cosmic Thing cuts like “Roam,” “Love Shack” or “Junebug.” The chorus on “Hot Corner” is killer, though. As for Strickland’s compositions, the tunes start to blend together after the halfway point, as the ambient dance tracks start to pile up. None of it’s bad, but it isn’t particularly compelling either.

Factor in the lack of depth in the lyrics —it’s all sex, sex and tacos—and Funplex just doesn’t compare to what the B-52s did back when they still had an apostrophe. Even without putting the work in context, it still doesn’t stand up well. The hooks aren’t strong enough, the music isn’t driving enough and the words aren’t interesting enough, although Lord knows the group tries.

There’s hope to be found in Funplex, though. Not all of it is bad—“Pump” and “Hot Corner” are pretty fun. But more importantly, it’s just nice to hear these music vets back in the studio. It may be overproduced, but the record’s vocals are clearly real, meaning that The B-52s’ upcoming April 25 show at the Electric Factory should still be a thriller.