On
Hello Doctor, the full-length debut by
Gravy Train!!!!, the band mixes musical styles and sexual orientations with reckless abandon, coming up with a try-sexual,
lo-fi rap/dance fusion that makes
Peaches sound as polished and demure as
Celine Dion. With a vocal style that's part cheerleader, part
riot grrrl, and part
hip-hop diva, lead
Gravy Trainee Chunx takes on all kinds of usually verboten topics, such as the dangers of giving a
"Kottonmouth BJ"; how poorly endowed men make her
"Hella Nervous"; and her star-crossed love of burgers in
"Burger Baby," which could be described as
"Papa Don't Preach" crossed with a Happy Meal. Dancer/rapper
Hunx adds to the pansexual approach on songs like
"You Made Me Gay," a raunchy but good-natured
hip-hop battle of the sexes (and sexualities) that rhymes "anthrax" with "skin sax," and
"Double Decker Supreme," a raunchy, ridiculous recounting of a menage a trois that also brings up the group's unique burger fetish. Despite the fact that
Hello Doctor is about nothing but sex, it sounds surprisingly innocent;
Chunx's strident delivery and the fact that most of the songs sound like playground chants set to Casios make the album more subversive and playful than erotic or exploitive.
Hello Doctor basically sounds like really drunken, crazy
karaoke at a wild party, particularly on
"Laffin' All the Way...to the Bank!," "Mouthfulla Caps," and
"Gutter Butter," a more
hip-hop-based track that suggests that the bandmembers have more than gimmicky sex songs up their collective sleeves. Then again,
Gravy Train!!!! works its gimmick with such a giddy sense of humor that it's hard not to at least crack a smile or bust a move or two while listening to
Hello Doctor. ~ Heather Phares