Biography
Human Sexual Response from Boston were expected to emerge as the defining act of the post-punk years, yet the band dissolved after only two albums and four years of activity. In that brief span the quartet generated intense local excitement across Boston and the East Coast through intellectually ambitious, high-voltage concerts and a polished strain of postmodern pop. Four vocalists stood at the front while a power trio, distinguished by Rich Gilbert’s incisive guitar, supplied the drive; together they fused punk’s confrontational spirit with the knowing theatricality associated with early Blondie. Larry Bangor, the most prominent singer, presented material such as “What Does Sex Mean to Me” and the irreverent “Jackie Onassis” in a nervy tenor that fused eroticism, defiance, and wit. The group never avoided provocation—Bangor spoke openly about his homosexuality—and remains the only American rock act to have performed a song titled “Buttfuck” on television. Their debut album arrived with strong promise, but the second release turned markedly bleak, encumbered by art-rock affectations and flat arrangements. Nearly every critic responded with disapproval, after which the band worked the New England club circuit for one additional year before disbanding in 1982. Rich Gilbert soon formed the forceful, high-volume unit the Zulus, while drummer Malcolm Travis later played with Bob Mould in Sugar. Occasional reunions took place over the following decades, producing infrequent yet well-attended shows that continued to draw both longtime followers and new listeners in sizable numbers.