Hot Tin Roof: The B-52s

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DESPITE BEING THEIR first record in 16 years, The B-52s' new "Funplex" isn't a comeback album, and their current string of live shows does not constitute a reunion tour.

According to vocalist and keyboard player Cindy Wilson, the band has been touring regularly for the past 10 years, making a solid career playing vintage party hits like "Rock Lobster" and "Love Shack" on package tours, at summer festivals and corporate gigs.

"Funplex" arose from The B-52s' desire for new songs to play during their many live shows. Over four years, singers Wilson, Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson, as well as multi-instrumentalist Keith Strickland, hammered out new material, with Strickland composing music at his home studio in Key West, then bringing the tunes up to Georgia, where the three vocalists would brainstorm on lyrics and harmonies.

"Going to the studio," says Wilson in her Southern accent, "that's one of my favorite things to do. We jam to Keith's great music, and we're all bouncing off each other's lyrics and melodies. Then we put all the puzzle pieces together."

It was, admittedly, a piecemeal approach, albeit not too far from the thrift-store aesthetic of their early days, when they were playing small clubs and local parties around Athens, Ga.

Living up to its title, "Funplex" casually updates The B-52s' eclectic sound without losing its oddball dynamic. Songs like "Hot Corner" and "Love in the Year 3000" feature the familiar contrasts of Schneider's outrageous shout-outs and Wilson and Pierson's brassy vocals, while "Juliet of the Spirits" and "Pump" pulse with Strickland's sophisticated electronic beats.

Behind The B-52s' relentlessly joyous party aesthetic lies a defining tragedy: the 1985 death of founding guitarist Ricky Wilson, Cindy's older brother.

"Not having Ricky right beside me onstage was very strange and hard to get used to," she admits. "Even though [1989's breakthrough 'Cosmic Thing,' their first release without him] was a really big success, which was validating and wonderful, it was very stressful talking about it."

Following a lengthy tour for "Cosmic Thing," Cindy left the band, a decision she says she regretted. She finally rejoined the band on their tour for the 1998 hits compilation "Time Capsule."

"I was so grateful that I got to come back," she says.

This club tour is prep for this summer's massive True Colors tour, which features Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett, Regina Spektor and Tegan & Sara (it comes to D.C. on June 7).

"We're looking forward to being onstage and having a good time with our audience and fans," says Wilson. "I'm so excited about the record I'm about to pop!"

» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; with Eagle Seagull, Sat., 8 p.m., sold out; 202-930-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express contributor Stephen M. Deusner

Photos by Pieter M. Van Hattem