Pictured: The birth place of awesome! (Awesome is me!)
Lipstick Homicide hales from Iowa City, or since as a former Iowan I'm actually familiar with the greater Iowa City metro area (Hehe), Coralville. I know very little about them other than they are a female fronted punk band and come suggested by the coolest kid I know:
God, that's a sexy plume.
I trust his musical tastes, and judging from a quick glance at song titles and length, I'm confident Out Utero will be filled with plenty of punk gems.
Not to mention this cover is simply beautiful.
I'm on a tight budget this week, so I'm rocking some Franzia. It pains me a little when I know there are some great Iowa vineyards, but when you're broke, you can't beat 5 liters for under $15 (God, I'm classy). With cheap ass wine and some Iowan punk music in hand, on to the review!
Album:
Alcohol:
"This Time For Real" opens us up with a bang and drive right in to a punk feel. Messy, but in an awesome way, and I like the guitar lead behind the vocals. Nice harmonies too. It has a this great pretty, pretty train wreck sound, and I can dig it. The little guitar lines are simple, but great. There is no slowing at all either. Love it. The little drop to guitar and voice at the end was really cool too.
"I Hope You Die" comes in with high energy and punk pacing, but feels a little more subtle than it's predecessor. I mean... It's not subtle at all, but it's less not subtle... Does that make sense? Doesn't matter. The song is cool, and already over.
"So Happy For You" gives a small pace break. They moved from high energy punk, to slightly less high energy punk in a slowing trend that is okay. This song really just feels more pop punk, but manages to retain better edge than most pop punk. The vocals get a little shaky here, but I won't ask for perfection considering the genre. Fun tune, but the first two were better.
Guitars bring us into"Rockerchick", another pop punk tune. This one reading a little cliched female punk song, but it's still fun and bouncy, and I find the cliche scores more believable here than in any Avril Lavinge(Sp?) tune. Solid track.
Guitars bring a more muted open to "What I'm Searching For". This tune is a little more of a pop punk stretch. As with the previous, it's bouncy, but not overly aggressive, but I really like the halfassed-ish finish to lines of vocals. It's so fitting. Cool little drop out there.. This whole album is moving much faster than my fingers... That's okay with me. =)
Guitar and voice bring us into "Say It To My Face". There are so many cool things happening here. Super high energy (Ofcourse) and The guitars open up here more. Kinda... In any event, I like it. The scream at the end could use some work, but I appreciate the effort.
Transistion into "Full Throttle" is nice, and the tune itself flows nicely. Shit. Poured some wine and half this song went by. Cool call and repeat vocals, I love the bass movement, and shit... Fun.
"I Don't Wanna Be Here Anymore" opens aggressively and doesn't slow. I really love the vocals. Like, they work on so many levels. And although the album feels textbook punky, it's excited amazingly. Dear god, I'm not sure how the bassist still has fingers or how the drummer has arms. Beautiful.
"Vampire Club, Pt. II" comes in breaking the pace down. Again, only slightly. I'm not sure if I'm missing anything from Pt. I (or if there is a Pt I), but I dig the tune. The vocals get shaky here again. I really think there is a fall off when she tries to go more "pretty" sounding. She needs the edge. I can relate. I sincerely hope this is an indication of the direction of the Iowa music scene.
"Declaration of Codependence" was good. And short.
And ramping up the energy is "Who Stole Molly's Bike". A very standard punk tune, but done great. My fingers are so lost... My mind keeps hearing things and they don't know what to type... I love that little near collapse instrumental part. God, this is so messy, and I love it!
"Rather Disappear" comes in as another pop punk tune. Vocals strong and fun here. This album would be a great road trip disc. So goddamn high energy and fun. Song is killer.
And another super transition into "Doin Nothin". This tune is were I'm getting a little worn. Maybe it's because I like the--wait, that little hardish part brought me back. Yes, I'm still good.
Closing the disc is "Like This Forever" and it's so slow and dry... Not really, another nice punk track. I could say how they strike me as a one trick pony, but when that one trick is so awesome, it would hardly be a complaint. And a solo? Yes. And with great punk taste. I can, and do, dig. A lot. Great close!
Final Thoughts:
Phew! I'm exhausted, and just made it through a 14 track album with only a buzz. I'd complain, but I'm satisfied. Oh, so satisfied. Thank you, Lipstick Homicide, for redeeming Iowa. Never stop doing what you do.
-Badhorse
Like what you've read? Then "Like" the blog for "real" on Facebook! Want to tell me how shitty my review was (it wasn't)? Pollute my Twitter! In a band with an album on the horizon, or know of an album you think I'd like/hate? Let's chat! If you are looking for a review with a little more coherency, I also write for EMURG.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment