After lead singer Richard Dacey moved the band to New York, the band has suddenly acquired a clearer and more urgent sound with lyrics that are bittersweet, depressingly funny, and always piercing. It has been written that most of the album, with Dacey as the chief songwriter, was written in a trendy coffee shop in NY. This has greatly helped Dacey's writing, which is still extremely personal but now with a much needed touch of the mainstream added to the mix.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the artistic zenith of the album is reached with the song "From Manhattan to Brooklyn and back to Manhattan: Always Queer!" Dacey's lyrics have never been as powerful as when he sings, "I've lived in many an apartment, always small; But the one thing that never changes, is my love of An-al!"

Of course, as with any artistic masterpiece, and make no mistake, this will be regarded as one of the greatest albums of the millenium; "Deflowered" is filled with gems like "I Am Who I Am: Very Gay", "The Backdoor is the ONLY DOOR" and the first catchy new single off the album, "Carly was Right."

Dacey isn't the only bandmember that deserves the credit though. Aided by beating sounds of ace drummer S.D. Brandon, and the fluid cords of expert bassist Lauren, Pansy Division has turned out a towering achievement that will be regarded in the anals, (pun intended!), of rock history.

For years, lead singer and songwriter Richard Dacey has been in the closet but with "Deflowered" he finally emerges to say to an anxious audience, "This is who I am. Love it or Leave it...have I told you about this great bar in N.Y. called the Library?"

Miss this album and you'll be missing one of the most honest and gut wrenching albums ever. 4 Stars! It doesn't get much better than this.

No subtlety here (and thats a good thing)
Wow. Upon first hearing the singing voice, I thought I had made a mistake, but the lyrics kept me listening, and its since grown on me. Its not the best singing voice you'll ever hear (nor the worst), but the lyrics are sometimes hilarious, and definitely forthright.

The songs alternate between the physical and the emotional aspects of love, and they say what they have to say without regard to any prudes who may be listening. There are also a few songs aimed at youth who may be in the "questioning" stages.

If you're a straight male you may not appreciate this album much, unless you are open minded and willing to expand your horizons. But if you're not and tired of the tons and tons of hetero-oriented love albums out there, this is a breath of fresh air.

The liner notes include the lyrics, and some frank safer-sex information. They also contain brief notes from the artists about each song.

We're here, we're queer, we don't want any more bears.
So the lyrics are a bit immature at times. So they're fixated on sex. If you can handle that, and you like the Buzzcocks, the Go-Gos, the Posies, Shonen Knife or Green Day, Pansy Division might make your day. It also just might make you laugh.

Pansy Division's melodies (and Jon Ginoli's in particular) are some of the most underrated in recent years. He's a pop songwriter who is way more talented than most people (himself included) perhaps realize. He consently undersells himself with silly songs about blow jobs and penis size and underwear, but the melodies are startlingly good. And the lyrics, for what they are, are often clever and hilarious. On Deflowered, when the topics become more serious or at least less sex-obsessed, like on "Not Enough Of You To Go Around" or "Fluffy City" or "Denny", the music is undeniable. And when a relatively straight (no pun intended) song like "Kissed" throws a ridiculous line or two in three-quarters through the song, it's the best of both worlds. And all the while, the melodies shimmer, the guitars jangle, and the rhythms will send you to pogo heaven.

A few years into their career, Pansy Division decided to stop writing silly sex songs and made a brilliant, relatively dead-serious power pop album called Absurd Pop Song Romance. The kids who got off (no pun intended) on the silly songs about underwear and sex toys wanted nothing to do with it. Sad, really.

Some might want to check out The Outnumbered, Jon Ginoli's pre-Pansy Division band. The lyrics were mostly serious and put Ginoli's angst and sexual frustration on display for all to see. It is painful, beautiful and devistating in its honesty. If you enjoy(ed) '80s era pop bands like the DBs, the Bongos or early R.E.M., you may want to investigate the recently released compilation called Surveying The Damage.

Can this be anymore obnoxious?
Pansy Division are among the worst bands I've heard in a while. Don't get me wrong people, I'm not homophobic. In fact I have a few gay friends that share my opinions on these losers.They complain that Pansy Division stereotype all gay teenagers as sex hungry maniacs,not to mention the fact that they are terrible musicians and their music is highly unoriginal. They keep shoving "we're gay so we're funny" in you're face. I wouldn't even like them if they were straight and talked about annoying problems with their girlfriends. We already have the lousy Blink-182 to do that. The songs are whiny beyond compare, especially the one about remebering old boyfriends.