Review:

on 2011-04-06 CharlesMartel Said:

I just can't get into this. Gordon Gano has a voice that sounds like Lou Reed. The band, according to the sleevenotes in this expanded and remastered version of it which I have, make a great play about what an embarrassment they were to their friends. So much so that people would cross the street to avoid them or pretend they didn't know them if they encountered them casually. This is described as punk, but is nothing of the sort. It is called acoustic punk, but there was really no such thing. If anything, this is powerpop because it contains all the elements of powerpop: noise; vulgarity; teenage angst and, above all, occasionally stupid and puerile lyrics.

Indeed, the Violent Femmes are all about teenage angst writ large. The songs are simple and straightforward, drawing on the experience of the songwriter with absolutely no pretension. This should be the sort of thing which I like. Why then do I not like this? Is there someone out there who can explain to me why I do not like this when I should?

There are several possible answers. The most appealing one I can come up with is that, like Springsteen, when I listen to music with that sort of message, I don't pick it up the same way in American. I can deal with my teenage angst like my political passion, from an English perspective. I can get Dire Straits doing Telegraph Road about the decline of a mid west American industrial town but I can't get Springsteen doing it. I can get the Buzzcocks or the Moondogs doing the teenage angst stuff on powerpop, but I cannot get the Violent Femmes doing it. I have no reference for it. And I really cannot get all that worked up about getting diddled out of a few pennies in a dispute with a bus driver.

Another possible answer is that I do not really like the sound. I like my music to be driven, preferably with a strong guitar-based rhythm. The Violent Femmes do not do that. The music sounds tinny and cheap. It sounds as if it has been put together in a garage by a bunch of wet-behind the ears kids who have almost no clue about production or any of the skills necessary to create a good record. Perhaps that is why it appeals to so many people - the sheer naivety of it. But to me it just comes across as incredibly, amateurishly childish.

Perhaps a third is that I find the lyrics to be too teenage angst and puerile to be credible. Think about it, we have all written stupid lyrics in the pub when evening after one too many pints of Wifebeater. We thought they were pretty slick at the time and we thought we were clever. In fact we were just lathered and in the cold light of day, as the hangover began to settle, we picked up that sheet of scribblings and thought, I didn't really think this crap was any good, did I? Well the Violent Femmes picked up their piece of paper and said, oh good, here are the lyrics to the first album.

If the answer is not to be found in one of these reasons (or possibly a combination of all of them), then I really have no idea. Whatever the reason, I do not get into this. And I do not get the adulation this receives when there is so much better stuff out there to listen to than this.
Rating: 4/10

Review:

on 2008-05-26 psychoticbarber Said:

Violent Femmes is the self-titled first release of the band which gave birth to the folk-punk genre. The album is notable for mixing the sounds of American folk and proto-punk into a heavy, whirling mass of folk noise. The band consisted, at the time, of Gordon Gano (Guitar, Violin, Lead Vocals), Brian Ritchie (Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass, Xylophone, Vocals), and Victor Lorenzo (Percussion). Mark Van Hecke played piano on the track "Good Feeling."

It took me a long time to get into this album. For most of my listening life, I've always sort of ignored this album, preferring to it the fifth release, "Why Do Birds Sing?". In retrospect, this was unfair. This album was partially responsible for folk-punk, one of my favourite genres, and the music is reflective of the experimentalism of what I now consider to be standard fare. There is terrific energy on the album, especially in songs like "Blister In The Sun" (the one that everybody knows) and "Prove My Love" (probably less well-known). The work of this band also leads into the Low-Fi genre, tidbits of which can be heard across the album.

Earlier this year, when I was young and foolish (haha), I thought this album was kind of boring and, as I said, I skipped over it. There's not much negative say about the album, except that it might be a tad weird for some people. It's definitely not your average alternative rock, it's drug inspired (occasionally feverishly so) and discordant at times, and unless you're up for something a little different, you probably won't like this. Of course, if you're not up for something a little different, chances are you won't even be reading this review.

This album has so much going for it, and so little taking away from that, it would be a shame if you didn't listen to it. So get on it already, eh?
Rating: 9/10

Review:

on 2007-09-04 hstisgod Said:

Gonna have to try this pogo thing soon, lmao. Absolutely the FIRST album you'll hear me state when asking what's the one album that can change my mood from sour to sweet in five nano seconds. Great review.
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2007-08-17 b0arder753 Said:

There is not one thing I would change about this album.. it embodies the (crushed) human spirit in every way (it's even perfect in it's flaws).
Rating: 10/10