Hefty Fine

From their hip-hop-heavy modern rock debut in the mid-1990's, The Bloodhound Gang have been mostly about having unabashed, silly fun. In one of the occasional 'best albums in the world...ever' poll that music magazines often run, it's unlikely you'll find The Bloodhound Gang nestling in amongst Radiohead, The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Big dumb songs with juvenile lyrics tend not to rock serious critic's boats. For all the sniggering lyrics and deliberately dumb songs, it can't be denied that The Bloodhound Gang have a certain charm. Hooray For Boobies, their most commercially successful release, is a perfect album to put on when your brain's in neutral, and their big hit The Bad Touch is a classic of its kind. In 2005 Bloodhound Gang return with their first album in five years. This album was originally going to be called Heavy Flow but it “turned out” that Moby has released a track called Heavy Flow so the new album name was changed to Hefty Fine.

Any fears that Hefty Fine may be the moment that The Bloodhound Gang 'go serious' are dispelled from the moment you see the front cover. A huge, naked man crouched in a crate and staring at the camera with a deadpan expression means that it's business as usual for Jimmy Pop and the gang. Hefty Fine jumps from genre to genre, playfully jibing everything from industrial (Something Diabolical) to retro-80's (I'm the Least You Can Do). Ralph Wiggum, a track constructed from quotes by the cult-favorite Simpsons character, well represents the lyrical content of the album, consisting of pop references and often inspired nonsense. The single Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo is basically a collection of impressive euphemisms for having sex, and although it's ridiculously childish, it's hard not to admire the sheer invention at work. It helps that the song itself is as catchy as hell, meaning that you're singing along with the acronym of the title long before the song's finished. Another standout track, aptly named Pennsylvania, is an ode to the band's home state. Elsewhere the music swings between the hard rock of Balls Out and the dancey synth pop of Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss. Traces of emo come off in Farting With A Walkman On, whereas toilet humor is taken to a whole new level and given a good beat in Diarrhea Runs In The Family. There are also a number of High School rock anthems to keep the kids happy. There is something for everyone with The Bloodhound Gang, so ignore them at your peril. A neat feature on this album is Evil Jared Hasselhoff’s thrusting bass lines that are the runway for many of the numbers to take off from.

On their fourth album, Hefty Fine, these Pennsylvania boys sound more like resourceful eccentrics than the potty-mouthed goofballs they played on their early records – which ain't to say they've upped the songwriting ante. Overall, the album is pretty similar to the group's previous releases. There's nothing wrong with that…the beauty of The Bloodhound Gang is Jimmy Pop's vocals laid down over crunchy power chords and dance beats. This band isn't doing anything to change the world (or music, for that matter), but you'll enjoy owning this album for the sole purpose of making middle-aged women blush when you crank the volume a little bit louder at each stoplight.