“Mary” and “Take Your Mama Out” both rely on subtlety and purloined phrases for much of their text, much like Morrissey during his Polari phase, but the fact that straight radio is, at least momentarily, singing along with “…Mama”’s coming-out narrative is a victory. Too often queer music is guilty of ghettoization, cordoning itself with rigid boundaries that, while providing a certain pool of artists for GLAMA and the Advocate to focus on, leaves no room for evolution or crosspollination. The Sisters are tired of that, and as such, invite the listener to their own party. They’ll even, as on album opener “Laura,” help you get your hair together first.
Then there’s their Studio 54ish take on Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb,” simultaneously fucking stoopid and cagily brilliant. It’s hard to imagine that an American band could so effortlessly take the piss out of this classic rock staple, yet the Sisters do everything with wit and sass. Any band that can take a song like “Take Your Mama Out” and make it rock like the theme from NewsRadio is onto something. Anyone with an affection for pop music at its most glorious or any “acid junkie college funky dirty puppy daddy bastard” looking for the giddy rush of some freaky 45s should look no further. The party is ready, you just have to come in… or come out, as the case may be.
