A few years ago, Boston’s PowerSlut forever changed the way we ride the MBTA with “Commuter Rail Me”, a raunchy tale of sexual ambition and horny fantasy dressed to the dirty nines. We still think of it when we get off at Park Street, and we wink at the conductor every time.
Today, Linnea Herzog and her genre-bending crew return with their sophomore album, appropriately titled The Second Coming — which feels way nastier than when The Stone Roses’ declared it two decades ago. The album, which we are tickled to premiere and is streamable via Bandcamp below, was recorded over the winter with Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios.
And as expected, it’s another romp through the deliriously devilish mind of Herzog, whose lyrics feel like an open diary on the Boston music scene and its players. Though no one is ever outed by name, it’s easy to draw connections to people you know, even if it’s all purely coincidental. And like all great diary entries, it’s hilarious until you suspect it might just be about you.
From the sweet sincerity of “Burrito Baby” (choice lyric: “Allston has fewer rats when she’s around”), to the bombastic, ’90s-addled “Girl Crush”, The Second Coming is a fun romp through ’60s pop, alternative rock, the scene, and the sheets that bind us all together. Spunky opener “Leopard Print Butt Plug” might be the best ever song about its title subject.
“We have a song about our mission on the new album, actually,” Herzog tells Vanyaland, “but barring that, I think our specific aim is to rock out and hopefully get someone laid. If people laugh, that’s good, too. The themes of this album are crushes, makeups, breakups, and an elusive leopard print butt plug from Etsy. My favorite song on the album is ‘Sad Waste of Your 20s’, on which JB (our guitarist) absolutely rips the world a new one with his guitar solos. At the heart of it, we’re just a bunch of music and sex nerds.”
As of press time, the MBTA has not responded to PowerSlut’s T-riding anthem of ’14. But given the way they handled the Mr. Spaghetti fiasco, maybe that’s a good thing. In the meantime, PowerSlut nut The Second Coming all over Out Of The Blue Art Gallery in Cambridge tonight for the official release party, a jaunty affair with Viva Gina, Carissa Johnson, Baluchitherium, and a one-song performance by Tracy Chevrolet. Deets on the flyer, designed by David Lee.
