The very late 80's and early 90's had a scene developing of some cool Funky Rock/Metal bands. Unfortunately a lot of them got lumped in with the Hair Metal scene, a place they certainly didn't belong. White Trash was one of these bands, along with others like Love/Hate, The Electric Boys, Bang Tango and Mind Funk. There were others like Primus, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More that were lumped into the "Alternative" scene.

White Trash's demise may have had more to do with the fact their song "Apple Pie" was wrongly compared to the Warrant song "Cherry Pie". And in the early 90's ANY connection with the Glam Metal scene was a kiss of death. Yes, it was completely stupid, White Trash had NOTHING to do with Warrant or Poison or any of them, they had a horn section for cripes sake!

Well, enough of the past, as you can tell I'm still a bit pissed about how some bands were treated. It's great to have these guys back after a major layoff. Even though the budget on the new material was probably a fraction of their other albums, the sound and the FUNK is still here. They influse some killer blistering guitars with old-school funky rock. But it goes deeper than that. Singer/Guitarist Dave Alvin has a has a twisted sense of humor infused into the songs. They also implement some Punk elements into the songs, and Alvin at times does some fine "Axl Rose" screams too. It's obvious that he and the band are influenced by a number of different genre's and sounds. There's even a cool cover of Aerosmith's "Sight For Sore Eyes".

If you're a fan of their earlier material you'll find some similarities of course, but the guys have obviously gotten older and production has changed a lot so it doesn't have quite the slick sound of the earlier stuff. You will find some very solid Funk Rock tunes that show the bands sense of humor and New York swagger. The language is harsh, and tunes like "Fat Ethyl" are downright vulgar to the point of being hilarious! Their musicianship and talent is very evident throughout the album, and while a few tracks were a bit too "funky" for this Metalhead Rocker, I really enjoyed the return of "White Trash".