AMG Review of Ping Pong EP

Vincent Jeffries
All Music Guide

This five-song EP is the first SNFU recording released by Alternative Tentacles, marking an end to the band's '90s Epitaph era. There is nothing new on Ping Pong; the band pounds out light-speed skate punk as singer Mr. Chi Pig warbles, hoots, and hollers his bizarre lyrics -- that ironically separate SNFU from much of the punk pack, just as they cheapen the group's image with their novel, nonsensical, or downright silly messages. Bouncing back from the ridiculousness of FYUBALA, Pig reigns in his bizarre poetry a little, keeping Ping Pong off of the band's "worst ever" list. The somewhat restrained, but still unruly, lyrics, combined with predictably strong musical material on tracks like "Questions Questions Questions," actually help to make this disc one of SNFU's stronger '90s releases. New fans should stick to the Canadians' seminal '80s recordings, but listeners who just can't get enough SNFU will enjoy Ping Pong as much as anything the band released after 1989's Better Than a Stick in the Eye.