's eponymous debut is an explosive fusion of melodic hooks, -styled power, and a twisted sense of humor partially borrowed from . But that only begins to scratch the surface of what makes a dynamic record. Guitarist has a powerful sense of dynamics and arrangements, which gives the music an extra kick, but he also can write exceptionally melodic and subversive songs. Nothing on is quite what it seems. While the songs have hooks and attitude that was sorely lacking in the late '70s, they are also informed by a bizarre sensibility, whether it's the driving the dreamy or the thumping perversion is about mass murder, while concerns pedophiles. All of it is told with a sense of humor, but it doesn't come off as cheap or smirking because of the group's hard-rocking drive and 's -idol vocals. Even apparently a love song on first listen, is an affecting tribute to a friend who committed suicide. In short, revel in taboo subjects with abandon, devoting themselves to the power of the hook, as well as sheer volume and gut-wrenching -- though the record is more musically accomplished than , it shares the same aesthetic. The combination of off-kilter humor, bizarre subjects, and blissful made one of the defining albums of its era, as well as one of the most influential. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine