"Karaoke Queen" and "Road Rage" bounce like a prepubescent child hopped up on Pixy Stix while taking shots at selfishness and superficial insecurity. "If all you've got to prove today is your innocence/Calm down, you're as guilty as can be," Matthews sings in the latter. Meanwhile, "Karaoke Queen" is for ladies who like Long Island iced teas and are "doomed to fail" while searching for momentary attention: "The stage gives way/It's an apostrophe to my legacy/But though I'm bruised/I'll happily do it again."
Class-conscious vitriol is turned up on "Storm the Palace," in which Matthews calls for the Royals to be tossed out and made ex-patriots; "She's a Millionaire" admonishes the woman "in her Versace dress" who's "too eager to impress" while "the ad begs "Buy bottled water,' but we know it tastes of piss."
Matthews -- who recently appeared on the cover of Details with her pants unzipped -- is a looker, all right, a fact that may make it difficult for some to focus on the band's songwriting capabilities. But because she looks like she could kick your ass more easily than be seduced, all bets are off. Especially since her stories hit at the heart of bourgeois pretensions and ugliness. God save this queen.
