** Chainsaw Kittens

CHAINSAW KITTENS

(Scratchie/Mercury)

For years, Billy Corgan has wondered why the aren't as big as he is. It's a justified thought; their 1992 Mammoth release, Flipped Out in Singapore, sparkled under Butch Vig's glossy, syrupy production, and lead singer Tyson Meade's bubbly androgyny begged for overexposure. Four years later, the Kittens have lost their glam appeal. Meade's Perry Farrell persona has vanished, and most of his band's slinky, slippery pop has devolved into a confusing, coerced psychedelia. "Dorothy's Last Fling" is a boring shoegazer of a tune, as is "Tongue Trick," with its stupid "Can you do that trick with your tongue!?!" chorus. The Kittens really purr when they show me, show me, show me how they do that trick of being obliviously sexy in the post-grunge era -- as on the glittery "Waltz Across Debris" and the beat-crazy "Ballad of Newsman 5," both of which could smash Corgan's pumpkin any day of the week.

-- Jonathan Vena

(The Chainsaw Kittens play Bill's Bar tonight, October 31.)