Displaying the most pithily succinct album title-cum-mission statement since Aerosmith’s Rocks, Manilla Road’s Metal and Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Rastaman Vibration, Christine’s Badasser traverses a phalanx of heavy music tropes and does so with ease. At its core a stoner metal band not far removed from the stuff on Tee Pee or MIA Records circa 1999, this also infuses a healthy punk scuzzball grit, grunge/alt-deliberateness and even sundry permutations of death, doom and sludge that don’t always work but never feel like a shoehorn contrivance. The decision to switch off between male and female vocals mano-a-mano (mana?) was a defining one, and it sets this Nashville band wayyy apart from the pack accordingly. Stevie Bailey – that’s the lady’s name, mind you – comes off as delicate and attitude-laden simultaneously, like Jennifer Herrema or Chrissie Hynde at their best. It’s a welcome tonic for the occasionally-too-much dickswingery of this genre, not that Stevie can’t muster a death metal growl when she wants to. The songs themselves are of variable quality, from so-so to really bleeping good, and I’m not sure whether something like “Bombshell Pluto” should be excised for filler’s sake or left in for diversity, but I’m not complaining overall. Really looking forward to hearing something new from these guys and dame, but wouldn’t you know it, they up and split. If you ask me, I can’t think of a jackasser decision than that.
written by Matthew Kirshner
|
Tracklist
|
| 1. How We Roll |
| 2. 2 Dead Dogs |
| 3. Jaundice |
| 4. Hell Hath No Fury |
| 5. Evolve Or Die |
| 6. Bones |
| 7. Motherfucker |
| 8. Bombshell Pluto |
| 9. Grave Lily |
| 10. Sunset Blvd. |
| 11. Darkside Of The Gloryhole |
| 12. Sheep In Wolf's Skin |
| 13. Conquistador |
Playing time: 49:19
|
Buy other Christine albums
|