Huffamoose suffered a major blow in 1997, when Interscope dropped the Philadelphia band despite all the favorable coverage its second album,
We've Been Had Again, had enjoyed. For awhile, it looked like
Huffamoose was going to call it quits, but thankfully, that didn't happen. The Philadelphians signed with Shanachie in 1999, and their third album,
I Wanna Be Your Pants, came out the following year. The School of Hard Knocks obviously didn't hurt
Huffamoose creatively, for this CD is excellent and makes one happy that the band decided to hang in there. To its credit,
Huffamoose hasn't compromised a bit: Its songs are still abstract, quirky, cryptic and left of center. While the alternative rockers sound a lot like they did in the early 90s, they have definitely fine-tuned their songwriting skills since then. Play 1993's generally decent but uneven Huffamoose next to 2000's consistently rewarding
I Wanna Be Your Pants, and you'll hear that a band has come a long way. As impressive as this album is, it isn't recommended to anyone who expects instant gratification from music; in fact, listeners may need to play
I Wanna Be Your Pants several times before they can fully absorb it. This is challenging music that must be accepted on its own terms. ~ Alex Henderson