This disc has been out since March but I dropped the ball in writing a CD review (until now). The passing of time hasn't necessarily been a bad thing as I have gotten a better appreciation for some of the new material having watched the band perform tracks from this disc live on The Tonight Show, The Today Show, the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Regis and Kelly. (Almost all of these videos are on YouTube for anyone who missed them the first time)

With this release, The B-52s do justice to their thirty-year legacy (which is more than a number of the band's contemporaries can lay claim to). The new songs fit well with the band's back catalog and it is somewhat amazing that the band can sound this revitalized after a 16-year hiatus from recording. In terms of how Funplex compares to the band's "recent" releases, it doesn't quite have the 'WOW' factor of Cosmic Thing but it is a stronger release than either Good Stuff or Bouncing Off the Satellites.

Funplex has a strong dance-floor sound and may be best compared to an updated version of Whammy!. In talking about writing the music for Funplex, Keith Strickland said "I had been listening to a lot of electronic dance music and early rock and roll. I was inspired to use these two aesthetics together with our own sound to write some shameless dance-floor party music." Keith and the band then added on to this by hiring veteran dance-music producer Steve Osboune (who produced The Doves, Suede and New Order's comeback CD).

Funplex debuted at #11 on the Billboard charts and the first two singles from this release are "Funplex" and "Juliet of the Spirits". Here are the videos for both songs:

Funplex:


Juliet of the Spirits (Live on Regis and Kelly)

Hopefully, it won't be another 16 years until the band's next disc of new material.

Links:
The B-52s Website