this time, with the help of David Tickle) is the most cutting recording the group has made since its debut in 1983. The guitars are harsher, the hooks grab harder, and Amphlett's vocals – overechoed last time – now slice right through the mix. Above Divinyls' "AC/DC goes pop" melodies, Amphlett curls syllables into suggestive new shapes. The result is the most sexually charged voice from a rock female since the emergence of Chrissie Hynde. In "Make Out Alright," Amphlett at first comes on confidently, then builds to an orgasmic plea. In "Love School" she turns giddily masochistic: "I get all steamed up when you ignore me." Even in a song like "If Love Was a Gun," in which she experiences rejection, the singer is rallied by the opportunity to wreak revenge.

The only song that risks wimpiness is "I'm on Your Side," an ode to devotion. Still, there's no denying the singer reaches her climax in "I Touch Myself," one of the catchiest songs ever written about masturbation. It is perhaps the truest tribute to Amphlett's urgent talent that she can make even self-stimulation seem inclusive. (RS 599)

JIM FARBER