Perhaps they’re trying to make GG Allin blush from beyond the grave? Klovis Gaynor & The Urinal Cakes is undoubtedly a provocative project, but one full of vision and intent rather than random, chaotic animosity. Klovis lashes out in queer fury and with aggressively scatological queerness in the most unabashed way possible. “Essentially, the project is all about smoking spliffs and fucking men you shouldn’t.” says Klovis, “I weave together different sexual experiences of mine to discuss larger and often overlooked aspects of queer identity.”
The EP opens up with a bombastic, piano-backed Frank-N-Furteresque monologue about DL Daddies—men who publicly present as straight while secretly attracted to or engaging with other men. Klovis Gaynor’s vocals fluctuate between a Tim Curry-esque timbre and a throaty, raspy growl reminiscent of shock-rock legend Dave Brokie (PBUH).
The “BABY PINK MONOLOGUE” is the foreplay to the single “BABY PINK SPLIFFS”. This track opens up with a similar vibe but now incorporates an oddly militaristic snare alongside the banged-up piano keys. This foreboding ambiance gives way to a chaotic jazz-rock fusion that thematically amplifies the tough subject that the song discusses: “A discreet sexual experience turned sexual assault,” as Klovis Gaynor confesses, detailing further: “The story is deeply personal and intimate to me, however, as the listener hear lines such as, ‘and you hate what’s inside you / and so you hate me / and so you hit me / and so you beat the fucking shit out of me’ they are forced to acknowledge and to hear how deep fear, hatred, and denial lead us all to hurt ourselves and hurting each other.”
The grim, angry notes give way to more dark angst in the shape of “SUB DOM INTERLUDE”, where we once again encounter a spoken word track accompanied by melancholic piano melodies. The anxious, moody vibes of the interlude transform neatly into “THE METH SONG”, a track that goes from ballad to chaotic prog-rock extravaganza in the blink of an eye, adding a lot of dimension and range to what we’ve heard of them so far. They’re avant-garde, but musically, there is plenty of method to the madness, with incredibly creative arrangements that feel unequivocally unique.
“SPLIFFS & DILFS ” dips even further into the anarchic rock musical vibes hinted at throughout the album. Everything from the off-the-wall sexually charged lyrics to the dramatic vocals reminds me of The Rocky Picture Horror Show, but as if it took place in the information age instead. The track also solidifies an important aspect that’s perhaps a bit easy to overlook: tenderness and vulnerability.
The song deals a lot with identity, self-esteem, and putting on a mask for others. Lying becomes a coping mechanism to shield one’s vulnerability, exposing the tension between authenticity and the façade we create to interact with the world.
In the closing sections, the repeated refrain of hating one’s “insides” becomes particularly striking, encapsulating feelings of self-rejection and despair. The cycle of addiction and the craving for escape, juxtaposed with the violence of relationships, paints a picture of a life caught in a turbulent loop of pleasure and pain.
Klovis Gaynor’s “BABY PINK SPLIFFS” is chock-full of surprises and subversion. And there is so much put into it that even on repeated listens, you’re bound to find things that had escaped you before, and what this means, of course, is that everyone involved was bringing their A-game to recording every single time, delivering something that is first and foremost MEMORABLE, perhaps the most unapologetic group of songs that you’ll ever listen to in your life.
“While one might assume an EP about sexual abuse and drug addiction would be rather hopeless, ‘BABY PINK SPLIFFS’, is surprisingly full of hope – hope through loss, hope through acknowledging the hurt, hope through bearing witness to the pain of a man, of many men, of my own, hope through seeing the systems and how they help and how they hurt, hope through singing, hope through screaming, hope from sharing and growing, hope from holding forgiveness and love for those who are also still learning, hope from setting boundaries, changing behaviors, and learning towards the light,” says the artist.
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