Thug Murder

The 13th Round (TKO)
by Scott Hefflon

A three-piece all-girl street punk band from Tokyo? Sounds like a gimmick, but if it is, it’s a good one cuz these girls rock! Thug Murder was discovered by DKM’s Ken Casey in his travels, and as is his generous nature, he’s puttin’ out their record and taking them on tour. I’m glad the bio referenced the Toy Dolls cuz not only are they a criminally-overlooked band by punk kids with short attention spans, they’re exactly the right band to compare Thug Murder to. Fun and snotty and more British than American, yet distinctly Japanese. A cool mix, to be sure. Production mostly sounds good, but the kick drum is kinda …And Justice For All and upfront for some reason and gets really distracting after a while.
(4104 24th St. #103 San Francisco, CA 94114)