Criticised heavily for being so similar to their first effort, this album did not live up to the expectations created by the incredible success of its predecessor. Most of the tracks are songs that can be found on live recordings dated before the first album, e.g. 'Beatnik Beach','He's So Strange'. 'We Don't Get Along', and the big hit 'Vacation' were in fact kind-of cover versions of Textones tracks. 'Kind-of' because the writer, Kathy Valentine, was in both bands. The whole of the record is camp and uplifting, with the only disappointment being the turgid 'It's Everything But Partytime'. The major difference between this and the first album is simply that the group are better at playing their instruments. There's a sense of greater fluidity on the playing, and you can hear the whole band enjoying the experience a little bit more. Overall, it didn't really deserve it's criticisms, and is a brilliant piece of work. However, the first and third albums have far more of a distinctive signature about them, from the girl-power rock and orgasmic guitar-riffs prevalent through 'Beauty and the Beat' to the Martin Rushent (Human League) produced 'Talk Show', which contains an early dabbling with electronica.

8 out of 10.