PLEASUREMAN - GUNTHER
It is not hard over there for a pimp. Embracing a hilarious, trashy, porn-star look, Swedish dance-floor sensation Gunther breathes broken English over pumping techno beats while his female backup singers, the Sunshine Sisters, handle the cheesy, bubble-gum hooks. This humorous take on the Euro-dance formula, popularized in the mid-’90s by acts like DJ Bobo and Aqua, is relentlessly repeated on “Pleasureman.” It is unlikely that anyone would ever make it through all 12 overblown tracks. But “standouts,” like the delirious duet with Samantha Fox on a cover of her ’80s hit “Touch Me” and the worldwide club hit “Ding Dong Song” (with its confessional hook, “You touched my tra-la-la”), deserve to be tested beyond frat parties. Let’s hope “Saturday Night Live” has a call in to Gunther’s management.–Reuters/Billboard
