Album of the Day

Following the 1992 dissolution of Jane's Addiction, frontman Perry Farrell and drummer Stephen Perkins recruited guitarist Peter DiStefano and bassist Martyn LeNoble to carry on as Porno For Pyros. Expectations were high for the band's self-titled debut, and it doesn't disappoint; while the 1993 Warner Bros. set bears some similarity to Jane's Addiction (a couple of its songs were composed before that group's break-up), it stands proudly on its own. Though the songs remain concise, for the most part they trade riffs for more progressive textures, covering a lot of stylistic ground in the process. The subject matter is equally diverse – paired tracks “Cursed Female” and “Cursed Male” examine gender roles, Modern Rock chart-topper “Pets” has an extraterrestrial theme, and a couple tracks deal with the then-recent L.A. riots. To celebrate Stephen Perkins' birthday, we'll give PORNO FOR PYROS another spin today.