Pansy Division

Quite Contrary

ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES. CD/DL/LP

Twenty-fifth anniversary for San Francisco’s queercore favourites.

The cover of Pansy Division’s 1996 album Wish I’d Taken Pictures featured two young men fooling around on a bed. Twenty years later they’re back, cuddling on the cover of Quite Contrary and marking the transition from horny youth to a slightly more sedate middle age. The song titles follow this passing-oftime narrative: no Pee Shy or Dick Of Death on this occasion; Love Came Along and (Is This What It’s Like) Getting Old indicates a more settled outlook. Nevertheless, Quite Contrary embraces the many insecurities of adult life (gay or otherwise): “phone addiction, aging barflies, dating apps, and flaky guys”. What hasn’t changed, however, is the band’s route-one powerpop – effervescent, smart and still played for laughs – which separated Pansy Division from their viscerally political peers in the ’90s. Yet the wistfulness of the lyrics creeps into some of the music; hence their take on Pet Shop Boys’ It’s A Sin, rather than the Nirvana or Hüsker Dü covers of past triumphs.