Sound: The band's overall sound is very raw, but they carry out their melody quite well and never fall apart. The second half of this CD was recorded in a basement, and some songs were recorded live. The songs range from fast punk (Carnival) to slow ballads (Outta Me) to artistic expirimentation (Thurston Hearts The Who). I love trashy rock, and there's a lot of that in here. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Kathleen Hanna is a talented singer/songwriter. Her voice is filled with raw and effective emotion. She does a great job switching her viewpoints from disgusted horror, to fun mockery in the incest anthem "Suck My Left One." She sings in a way that a little girl might, but when the chant of the title comes, she turns her voice into something reminiscent of Wendy O. Williams. In "Feels Blind," she gives a heart felt performance on the hunger women face in society. The lyrics, on the other hand, are written well, but some songs are jam pact with extreme feminism. The message that this band wants to send out is that white boys should die, women are constantly alienated, and male machismoism translates to rape. The anger in most of the songs fit well with the bands sound. I loved the style and tools used to write these lyrics, but the message is idiotic. // 8
Impression: I love the effectiveness the band has in this album. The best examples of this are in the songs "Carnival," "Suck My Left One," "Feels Blind," "This Is Not A Test," and "Rebel Girl." I love Kathleen Hanna's voice, the bands' overall sound, and the songwriting but I hated the bands overall message. I can't think of anything this album might compare to except for Bikini Kill's next album "Pussy Whipped" and albums of bands that later ripped off Bikini Kill, like Sleater Kinney. This is a rare and hard to find CD, I had to special order it, so if it were to get lost, I would buy a new one or get pissed if I couldn't find another one. // 8
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