Trip Records: Press Desk: Review: Flagpole Magazine

[Press Clips]

Flagpole Magazine
(Athens, GA)

09 September 1997
Subject: various artists Sibilance Issue #2

Sibilance
by Jeremy Cohen

Sibilance, alternately billed as the "Quarterly Queer Audiozine of Aural Penetration," is an interesting little compilation put together four times a year (at least, that's the game plan) by Trip Records, a gay- and lesbian-oriented label based in Maine. Issue #2 recently celebrated its release, and like its predecessor, it's quite the eclectic grab-bag of music and spoken-word performances. Most of it works, but even the stuff that doesn't isn't likely to bore you along the way.

The musical end of Sibilance primarily consists of electronic offerings. While the pseudo-'80s Eurotech of Boffo Santana-Jones and davidmahr grates on the nerves after a while, the other contributions prove quite redeeming. Holophonic's fun-with-voice mail endeavor, "Ain't That a Bitch," is a lot of fun, as is the schizophrenic sonic potpourri of the Subconscious Can Can Cult and Marcie Duz... Donna!. The spoken-word side of things is headed up by Denise Katz, whose contribution is a three-part monologue entitled "Tits." (Take a guess as to the subject matter.)

Hilarity abounds on Sibilance -- look no further than Dean Johnson, the six-foot, five-inch-tall bald drag queen frontman for trash-rockers the Velvet Mafia. Perversely accompanied by the strains of Bach, his spoken-word bit recounts the trials and tribulations of buying lingerie from the Greenwich Village branch of K-Mart. Need you further elaboration? Also hoisting the freak flag proudly are the Pointless Sisters, an odd assemblage sounding very much like a chorus of rabid eunuchs singing along to a karaoke machine. (That's meant in a complimentary sense.)

Cutting to the chase, is Sibilance worth the investment? To quote from the CD's packaging: "Nearly 60 minutes of sound for only 5 bucks, and all you can do is stare at the back cover?!?"

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