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{{Infobox album
| name       = Sexplosion!
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult]]
| cover      = Sexplosion!.png
| alt        =
| released   = 1991
| recorded   = December 1990 – January 1991<br /><small>(Chicago, Illinois)</small>
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = [[Industrial dance]]
| length     =
| label      = [[Wax Trax! Records|Wax Trax!]]<br />[[Interscope Records|Interscope]]/[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
| producer   = Buzz McCoy
| prev_title = [[Confessions of a Knife...]]
| prev_year  = 1990
| next_title = [[13 Above the Night]]
| next_year  = 1993
}}

'''''Sexplosion!''''' is the third studio album by [[industrial music|industrial]] [[disco]] band [[My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult]].  It was originally released in 1991 on [[Wax Trax! Records]].  Described by lead vocalist Groovie Mann as their "sexy" album, ''Sexplosion!'' is one of the band's biggest commercial and critical successes.

==Background==
Vocalist Groovie Mann called ''Sexplosion!'' the group's "sexy" album in 1995, adding that it was "total disco".  He said it was intended as an open-ended fantasy for listeners and that it was genderless in its suggestions.<ref>{{cite book | author=Smith, Richard | title=Seduced and Abandoned: Essays on Gay Men and Popular Music | page=84 | publisher=Cassell | year=1995 | isbn=978-0304333431}}</ref>

==Release==
''Sexplosion!'' was released in 1991 on [[Wax Trax! Records]] and became one of the most successful releases in the label's history, selling more than 61,000 copies within six weeks of the album's June 1 release.<ref name="assimilate">{{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=S. Alexander |title=Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199832583 |page=263}}</ref>  The title track peaked at No. 10 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Dance/Club Play Songs]] on October 26, 1991.<ref name=dance-club>{{cite magazine | url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=my life with the thrill kill kult|chart=Dance/Club Play Songs}} | title=My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult: Dance/Club Play Songs | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | accessdate=January 30, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | title=Hot Dance Music: Club Play | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | issue=43 | volume=103 | date=October 26, 1991}}</ref> The song "Sex on Wheelz" peaked at No. 15 on the same chart on July 27, 1991,<ref name=dance-club/><ref>{{cite magazine | title=Hot Dance Music: Club Play | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | issue=30 | volume=103 | date=July 27, 1991}}</ref> as well as reaching No. 23 on the [[Alternative Airplay|Modern Rock Tracks]] Chart.<ref>https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-08-17.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=September 2022}}</ref>  "Sex on Wheelz" appeared on the latter chart again, with its [[Cool World]] soundtrack<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4130180.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414013800/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4130180.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=April 14, 2016 | author=Kim, Jae-Ha | title=Weekend Jam | work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | date=September 18, 1992 | accessdate=February 4, 2013}}</ref> remix, when it peaked at No. 17 on August 15, 1992.<ref name=alternative>{{cite magazine | url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=my life with the thrill kill kult|chart=Alternative Songs}} | title=My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult: Alternative Songs | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | accessdate=January 30, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | title=Modern Rock Tracks | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | issue=33 | volume=104 | date=August 15, 1992}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1      = [[Allmusic]]
| rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/sexplosion!-mw0000265846 | author=Raggett, Ned | title=Sexplosion! Overview | publisher=[[Allmusic]]. [[Rovi Corporation]] | accessdate=January 30, 2013}}</ref>
| rev2      = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
| rev2Score = {{rating|3.5|4}}<ref name=kot>{{cite web | url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-08-15/features/9103290022_1_star-groovie-thrill | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075458/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-08-15/features/9103290022_1_star-groovie-thrill | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 4, 2016 | author=Kot, Greg | title=My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult Sexplosion | work=[[Chicago Tribune]] | date=August 15, 1991 | accessdate=January 31, 2013}}</ref>
}}
''Sexplosion!'' was well received by critics.  Ned Raggett of [[Allmusic]] said it was the band's best album, calling it a clever blend of pop music sensibilities and trashiness.  He went on to say the album mostly concerned itself with "who is doing whom and whether or not there will be enough spangles, muscle boys, and cocktails available."  He noted with approval its lounge music vibe in places, as well as its sampling of theme songs from [[James Bond]] movies including ''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]''. He particularly praised the album's hit single "Sex on Wheelz" for its "nutty stomp and leer" and called it "as compressed and propulsive a celebration of fornication and driving as anything else America has ever come up with."<ref name=allmusic/>  [[Greg Kot]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' was similarly enthusiastic, and began his review by saying, "This record has absolutely no redeeming social value whatsoever, and it's wonderful."<ref name=kot/>  He went on to call the album a blend of "sleaze ... camp ... and neon stylishness", and said it is all about having adult fun.<ref name=kot/>

==Touring==
The band toured in support of the album in July 1991.  Eric Brace of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' said the live show was quite strong considering how devoted to camp the band is.<ref name=brace91>{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1075466.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415214457/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1075466.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=April 15, 2016 | author=Brace, Eric | title=Thrill Kill Kult's Righteous Riffs | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=July 18, 1991 | accessdate=February 4, 2013}}</ref>  He noted Groovie Mann's vocals and the excessive use of smoke machines as the show's primary weak points, while praising the performances of the instrumentalists in the group.<ref name=brace91/>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| headline        = Original Wax Trax! release (1991)
| all_writing     = Buzz McCoy and Groovie Mann
| title1          = The International Sin Set
| length1         = 5:48
| title2          = Leathersex
| length2         = 6:10
| title3          = A Martini Built for Two
| length3         = 5:48
| title4          = Dream Baby
| length4         = 5:47
| title5          = Mood No. 6
| length5         = 2:25
| title6          = Sexplosion!
| length6         = 5:52
| title7          = Princess of the Queens (The Lost Generation)
| length7         = 4:31
| title8          = Sex on Wheelz
| length8         = 4:59
| title9          = A Continental Touch
| length9         = 6:11
| title10         = Mystery Babylon
| length10        = 7:13
| title11         = Dream Baby
| note11          = Nocturnal Mix
| length11        = 7:04
| title12         = Sex on Wheelz
| note12          = Radio Mix
| length12        = 3:58
}}
{{Track listing
| headline        = Interscope re-release (1992)
| title1          = The International Sin Set
| length1         = 5:48
| title2          = Leathersex
| length2         = 6:10
| title3          = A Martini Built for Two
| length3         = 5:48
| title4          = Dream Baby
| length4         = 5:47
| title5          = Mood No. 6
| length5         = 2:25
| title6          = Sexplosion!
| length6         = 5:52
| title7          = Princess of the Queens (The Lost Generation)
| length7         = 4:31
| title8          = Sex on Wheelz
| length8         = 4:59
| title9          = A Continental Touch
| length9         = 6:11
| title10         = Mystery Babylon
| length10        = 7:13
| title11         = Sex on Wheelz
| note11          = Motor City Remix
| length11        = 4:40
}}

==Personnel==
*Groovie Mann – vocals
*Buzz McCoy – [[Programming (music)|programming]], guitar
*Sekret Dezyre (Laura Dame) - vocals
*[[Shawn Christopher]] – vocals (7)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Discogs master|type=album|17250|name=Sexplosion!}}

{{My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1991 albums]]
[[Category:My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult albums]]
[[Category:Interscope Records albums]]