I have always had a 'soft spot' for The B-52's and regretted not catching the band at their last two shows in Coney Island. The good news is that the band is readying their first new studio CD in 16 years, "Funplex", and the title track will be released as a single on iTunes on January 29th. Hopefully this means that the band will do a full tour behind this release.

There is a great interview with Cindy Wilson (from Creative Loafing) on the band's MySpace page where she talks about the new CD. Here is a snippet of the interview and there is a link to the full text at the bottom.

The vocals from Wilson, Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson are playful, sinewy and dynamic. The material is sassy, hooky and kitschy. And the whole thing sounds remarkably like it could be a lost project from sometime in the late '80s, yet it doesn't rely on tired retreads or obvious rip-offs from the past.

Standouts from the first listen include "Funplex," "Juliet of the Spirits," the anthemic "Hot Corner" and "Let's Keep This Party Going On." Overall, there seems to be at least five strong-enough-to-be-hit singles. The rest are well-crafted album cuts with no obvious filler. It could very well become the band's best-received album of its career – if it's properly promoted and heard.