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Bratmobile: Ladies, Women and Girls
"We grew up all girl somehow," singer Allison Wolfe declares in the opening track of Bratmobile's new album, Ladies, Women and Girls. Its first release since the band re-formed in 1998, Ladies examines the same themes of oppression and feminist struggle that the band addressed on previous efforts. But while its lyrical sentiments have been preserved, the unadulterated energy that dominated Bratmobile's earlier recordings has unfortunately been lost.
One of the seminal riot-grrrl groups of the early 1990s, Bratmobile exploded onto the scene with Pottymouth, which was full of an irreverent power that the band is unable to apply to its new music. "Gimme gimme gimme more things! More things!" shouts Wolfe in her characteristic off-key whine on "Flavor of the Month," making you wonder how maturity passed over the band completely. Other riot-grrrl acts like Sleater-Kinney and Bikini Kill grew more articulate without sacrificing their energy or momentum. Bratmobile, however, has neither grown nor retained the qualities that formerly defined it.
However, the record does feature some rockin' highlights. "Gimme Brains" picks up where The Real Janelle EP left off in 1994, employing hand claps and a catchy guitar riff to round out the chorus in one of Ladies' best tracks, "Well You Wanna Know What?" Jon Nikki's keyboards add another dimension to the song's complex melody. Molly Neuman's forceful drumming drives the alternating "Oh no/Oh yeah" of the chorus.
On "Do You Like Me Like That?" Wolfe announces "that a life that's boring is a life without risk." Yet Ladies plays like a too-safe version of Bratmobile's earlier albums. If only the band had heeded Wolfe's advice, perhaps it could have recaptured its old energy. (Lookout)
—Julia Kripke
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