Mannequin Pussy’s Gypsy Pervert runs ten tracks and eighteen minutes, and it wants to do two things at once: sound dangerous and sound like pop. The band pulls it off, mostly.
Sneaky Opens the Record
“Sneaky” starts the album with a quick, sneering riff that sets the tone. It is brief and pointed, and it tells you what is coming without wasting time.
“My Baby (Axe Nice)” follows at under a minute, a short, sharp blast of noise that feels like a dare. It is over before it settles into a shape.
Clue Juice and Clit Eastwood
“Clue Juice” keeps the pace up without adding much new. It is competent, but it is filler next to the tracks around it.
“Clit Eastwood” stretches to nearly two minutes and leans into a heavier, slower groove. It stands apart from the surrounding tracks, which keeps it from feeling like padding.
Someone Like You
“Someone Like You” is where the record finds its center. The melody cuts through the distortion, and the song’s hook earns its place as one of the tracks critics singled out.
“Terror, No!” is a short burst of energy that functions as a bridge into the album’s heavier middle stretch.
Meatslave 2 and 3
“Meatslave 2” is the longest track here, at 3:27, and it is the heaviest moment on the record. It builds tension across its full runtime and shows the band can sustain a heavier approach.
“Meatslave 3” is barely a minute long and functions as a breather before the record’s final stretch.
Sheet City and Pissdrinker Close It Out
“Sheet City” is another standout, a track critics named specifically for its sharp delivery and its hooks. It closes the album’s middle section on a high note.
“Pissdrinker” ends the record at 3:16, a strong closer that ties together the album’s themes of danger and pop appeal. It is a fitting way to end a record that spends its whole runtime balancing those two impulses.
What Works and What Doesn’t
The record’s strength is its variety. It moves between fast punk, heavier metal-adjacent moments, and pop-tinged hooks without losing momentum. The songs that fall short — “Clue Juice,” “My Baby (Axe Nice),” “Meatslave 3” — are short enough that they do not drag down the overall flow.
The album’s weakness is its brevity. Eighteen minutes does not give the band room to fully develop its ideas, and some tracks feel like sketches rather than finished songs.
The Verdict
Gypsy Pervert is a tight, energetic record that knows exactly what it wants to be. Its best moments — “Someone Like You,” “Sheet City,” “Pissdrinker” — justify the hype. Its weaker moments are easy to forgive because they are so short. This is a band at the top of its game, even when it is reaching.
Key Facts
- Artist: Mannequin Pussy
- Album: Gypsy Pervert
- Tracks: 10
- Running time: 18 minutes
- Best tracks: “Someone Like You,” “Sheet City,” “Pissdrinker”
- Sneaky1:43
- My Baby (Axe Nice)0:59
- Clue Juice1:19
- Clit Eastwood1:55
- Someone Like You2:08
- Terror, No!1:24
- Meatslave 23:27
- Meatslave 30:41
- Sheet City1:31
- Pissdrinker3:16
