1991: Nirvana enters music mainstream with Nevermind and a naked baby picture. Countless knock-offs are spawned, but the Presidents of the United States of America’s eponymous album stood out for its quirky, anti-grunge sensibility.
Few Months Later: grunge dies, PUSA fades with it.
Last Summer: Presidents, unlike Nirvana, get back together and release Love Everybody. And how is it?
If you like the Presidents’ other releases you’ll enjoy this: they’ve lost some of their edginess but none of their edge and upbeat jamming. If you don’t like their earlier stuff, be warned that their overly-indulgently poppy “Some Postman” has been crawling the radio charts. Offerings like “5,500 Miles” and “Poke and Destroy” hark back to the smooth melody/high strung mania one-two punch that brought the Presidents their original fame in “Kitty” and “Peaches.” Other songs like “Vestina” will have listeners hitting rewind repeatedly, if only to decipher what the trippy, upbeat trio is singing about.
4 Stars
Archived article by Michael Morisy