If I ever see another article about how Brodie is the saviour of rock and roll, I think I’ll scream. With the mainstream press clambering over Miss Dalle as if the world depended on it, you could be forgiven for forgetting The Distillers are actually comprised of three men and a little lady. Throw in break ups, divorces, new relationships and her ex-hubbie’s new album and there’s more controversy than your average episode of Eastenders. Of course the music seemingly didn’t matter with all that going on, what with the press looking for a real woman to crown as their punk queen.
Not that any of that matters to me, it’s superfluous bollocks that music ‘journalists’ should be ashamed to write about. The Distillers, the band, are back with a new record and their first for Sire (otherwise known as a major label). But is it any good? Well, there’s the obvious major label influences – Brodie is more pin-up than punk, complete with midriff showing and Toni and Guy haircut, and the production is thicker and shinier than ever before. Brodie, now known as Miss Dalle, also sings on this album – gone is the screech, in favour of a vocal which resembles Courtney Love’s holler from her Hole days. But with all this money lavishly spent (allegedly), has it made the actual CD better than ‘Sing Sing Death House’? Well, that depends on how you look at it. It’s less of a ‘punk’ album – gone is the venom and spit that made Brodie an icon, but it’s replaced with a maturity that, in places, really impresses.
The single ‘Drain The Blood’ is glossier than anything the band have come out with previously and with a hook the size of Holland it’s easy to see why it’s the first single. And I know I’ll probably get slammed for saying it, but I like it. It’s indicative of where The Distillers are going, but on this song it does work. The great songs don’t really flow on that often from here on in; ‘Die On A Rope’ is upbeat and one of the better songs, while ‘Coral Fang’ and ‘The Hunger’, the latter especially, certainly impress. ‘The Hunger’ harks back to a time when Hole were important, the tortured vocal during the early stages of the song switches well into Brodie‘s reasonably harsh scream a minute in. ‘Hall of Mirrors’ is good too, but then songs like the arty-farty feeback-fest of ‘Death Sex’ undo all the good work.
For the most part ‘Coral Fang’ is over-produced and for a woman who has been through a divorce, it’s not wrought with emotion as it could be. Sure, there are many lines which suggest Brodie‘s pissed off at the world, but she’s always been that. Is it better than ‘Sing Sing Death House’? Well yes and no. ‘Coral Fang’ is an ok record, but it’s certainly not what the mainstream has bulled it up to be. Fans will probably love it, and there’s no doubt it will become the band’s biggest seller yet. But biggest doesn’t always mean best…
www.thedistillers.com
Sire Records
Paul