It's come to my attention that the Presidents of the United States of America really seem to annoy. Seems the Seattle trio are just not depressing and dour enough for those who have become accustomed to the miserable angst polluting MTV and radio stations nationwide. Well, if the PUSA have their goofy, little way, everyone will loosen up a bit and stop taking everything so seriously. When did music stop being about entertainment?
It hasn't in the Presidents' tweaked, … mehradolescent world. Like their political counterpart, Bill Clinton, these happy-go-lucky boys just want to make everything OK in the world. What better way to do so than the welcome handshake of "Ladies and Gentlemen Pt. 1" to start things off right? "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, are you prepared to rock?" they inquire and then repeat quite definitively, "Let's rock," just so you know they mean business.

And let there be no doubt, the Presidents are dead serious about not being serious. We find the usual assortment of odd character's ("Froggy," "Little Indian Princess," and others) and wacky scenarios ("Tiki God," "Puffy Little Shoes," "Bath of Fire," and "Lunatic to Love"), but the best lyrical webs spun by frontman Chris Ballew are trivial little vignettes turned into irresistible anthemic pop songs. The PUSA are the finest proponents of mindless escapism of the strangest variety. So, leave all your worldly troubles behind when you pop this baby in the CD player, and take a trip to the Presidents' world as they beckon, "This is the show, we are the band, sometimes it just takes you by the hand." weniger