Seth Bogart is better known by fans of rip-roaring garage punk as
Hunx, as in
Hunx & His Punx, a group responsible for a bunch of killer singles and two albums in the 2010s. He also released a record as just
Hunx, which was a touch more introspective than the
Punx albums. One might think that by stepping out from behind the
Hunx name and making an album as himself,
Bogart may have made the final step into making mature, forthright singer/songwriter music. Wrong!
Seth Bogart is even goofier, looser, and more fun than any record he made as
Hunx. Forgoing the glammed-up garage punk in favor of a sparkly electro-pop sound made on cheap keyboards,
Bogart and a bunch of his friends have made a party album plain and simple. A party with a few moments of introspection, but a party still the same. Bubbling beats, shimmering synths, silly songs about sex and dancing, with
Bogart presiding over the proceedings with the gleeful air of a guy having the time of his life. He treats his vocals with Auto-Tune, and speeds them up and compresses them into a squeaky whine, with guests like
Kathleen Hanna, Tavi Gevinson, and
Chela providing some nice balance. The songs are as strong as anything he's done in the past. He proves just as good at slinky disco ("Supermarket Supermodel") as he is at '50s pastiches, as sly and sassy on the plastic R&B ballad ("Lubed") as he is on rollicking garage rockers. His light and frothy approach translates easily to this ready-made pop sound, making it the most enjoyable album he's done yet. The few moments when he brings the lights down a little and gets moody, like on the late-night synth pop-influenced "Forgotten Fantazy" or the album-ending "Sunday Boy," show he's not a one-dimensional party animal and they give the record a little bit of gravity. Just a little though; mostly it's a Technicolor explosion of pop silliness and sneaky-sharp, hook-filled bubblegum. It's not quite
Hunx and it's definitely not punk, but
Seth Bogart is a blast. ~ Tim Sendra