Artist: Sex Department 
   Title: Sex Department
   Label: Perris Records

The latest in a seemingly never-ending stream of glam bands to emerge in the 21 st century whose world apparently stopped in 1989 on the Sunset Strip are Italian glamsters S.E.X. Department.  Their self-titled album starts off with the mediocre ‘Call Me Baby Call Me’, a song with a frankly annoyingly repetitive chorus that just seems to plod along without really going anywhere.  Obligatory ballad ‘Drive Me Insane’ isn’t bad and improves on the album’s opener but again has the feeling that this album is going to be an average glam-by-numbers effort that while isn’t bad, doesn’t have anything that stands out and makes it good either.

Listening to the rest of the album unfortunately confirms these fears and the album never really picks up the pace and gets going. This is a shame because there are some potentially good songs here but they’re hampered by a feeling that the band don’t really believe 100% in what they’re doing and an overall feeling of a band just going through the motions and hitting all the right glam buttons but without putting their own stamp on it. 

If lyrics about sex, drugs and rock n' roll circa 1980’s Hollywood are your thing then you may well enjoy this album as Sex Department never stray from their chosen subjects – ‘One Way Ticket To Rock’, ‘Rock N' Roll’ and ‘S.E.X. Department’ are all enjoyable stompers – but if you’re looking for reasons to bother checking this out as opposed to just digging out a couple of best-of's by Faster Pussycat and the L.A. Guns instead then you’d be hard pushed to find many.  Worth giving a try by all means but no matter how many times you listen to it, ludicrously-named singer Kelly ‘Trash’ Mendess’ vocal range will still always be very limited at best and the inclusion of an acoustic ballad entitled ‘Italian Cowboy’ (yes I know, I thought that as well) will still seem as ridiculous as the first time you heard it.

Best Track – ‘One Way Ticket To Rock’.

Review by: Adam G

Tracklisting:

1. Call Me Baby Call Me
2.  Drive Me Insane
3. Revenge Of Vampires
4.  Rock N Roll Never Dies
5. One Way Ticket To Rock
6. Glitter Bitter
7. Sir Yes Sir
8. Italian Cowboy
9. Rock N Roll
10. S.E.X. Department 

                  

 

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