Search - Les Hell on Heels :: Les Hell on Heels

Super fine girl-power-punk-pop

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 11/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Let's see, four-piece girl group on Bomp! with a lead singer named Paula... could this be The Pandoras revisited? Well a bit yes, and mostly no. There's a similar power-punk-pop energy in this group's debut, but the retro sensibilities are more subtle (and don't reach as far back) than The Pandoras' debut. For starters, this was produced to sound like a modern rock record (not "modern rock," mind you, but a full-fidelity record of rock 'n' roll.) rather than a recreation of mid-60s garage. Producer Jack Endino (Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, et al.) captures the band's raw energy loud and clear, but the harmonies, which at times harken back to classic 60s girlgroup sounds, set this apart from his work with Seattle's grunge crowd.



There's more than a touch of the Shangri-Las in the band's attitude, but with an in-your-face toughness that Mary Weiss would have found a hard-sell in the mid-. Paula Monarch's vocals are equally snotty pop-punk (Nikki Corvette, Paula Pierce, NY Dolls, etc.) and kittenishly seductive, as if April March stopped aping '60s French pop and truly rocked out. The band delivers their sonic punch with a rock solid rhythm section and ferocious electric guitars - something like what the Runaways might have sounded like if they'd begun (rather than evolved into being) Joan Jett's backing band.



The band writes their own material (save for a cover of Jeff Dahl's "Ain't So Cool"), and it's filled with memorable musical hooks and lyrics about their kind of trouble (namely, bad boys) and plenty of kiss-and-tell offs. This album rocks hard, and at a shade under 30-minutes its only real problem is its brevity."