Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
Harald Sæverud: String Quartets
Music: Don't Call Me Baby [CD-single] [Import]
Hi Jazz, Vol. 3: Fine Collection of Nu Jazz Themes [Import]
Keep on Movin: It's Too Funky in Here
Haiti Collector: Ouki Ac Malice [Import]
Amazon.com
Emerging, literally, from the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they gained notoriety through busking, this strange trio led by guitarist-vocalist Gordon Gano became a cult favorite with their self-titled debut album in 1983. Influenced greatly by Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers, the Femmes' minimalist sound pitted Gano's low-volume electric guitar against Brian Ritchie's acoustic bass guitar and Victor De Lorenzo's ashcanlike homemade drum kit--all of which only served to make Gano's angst-ridden adolescent tirades more arresting. Highlights here are the rockabillyish "Gone Daddy Gone," the snotty "Kiss Off," and the emblematically nervous "Blister in the Sun." All in all, a fond reminder of the innocent days of alt-rock. (Note: The 20th anniversary deluxe version of the album includes an additional 26 demos and live tunes, 22 of them never before released.) --Billy Altman