Bangs

Sweet Revenge (Kill Rock Stars)
by Jamie Kiffel

Bikini Kill comes rushing back to me in a flood of high school memories. No shrieks about failing to reach orgasm, and easier to understand than Bikini Kill’s cries about bloody tampons, Bangs still definitely smell of the old anthem-y, Riot Grrl-y shouts about those annoying boys. This is poppy, punky stuff that makes a good soundtrack for those pink, fuzzy pillows embroidered, “Girls rule, boys drool.”

This is singable, silly power pop delivered by girlish voices that sound like they’d spit grape bubble gum (not nails) across the room. OK, so they aren’t quietly slipping counter-mainstream mickies into our Tang. They’re more of a ticked-off Bangles, especially on “Undo Everything,” which I’m sure played in the background of some roller rink party I attended in the ’80s. In any case, 15- through 18-year-old gals need to know that it’s still cool to shout in the face of the mainstream, even if your voice sounds more like Tinkerbell than a tyrannosaurus – and if it doesn’t piss anybody off, at least it’ll feel good riling up the hormones.
(PMB 418 120 N.E. State St. Olympia, WA 98501)