published: 29 /
7 /
2016
Label:
Suicide Squeeze
Format: CD
Appealing and solid fifth album from Atlanta-based punk/power pop trio, the Coathangers
Review
The Ramones each famously performed under monikers ending with the band name.
Johnny. Dee Dee. Tommy. Everyone who took up an instrument beside the lanky, fist-pumping icon Joey Ramone took his last name. It gave the band a sense of singularity.
Less famously, the Coathangers, an Atlanta, Georgia three-piece power pop/punk band perform with the same sense of unity. Every one of the spunky, spitfire girls changes her name to Coathanger, a banner that immediately suggests a hard edge, feminist bent.
What the Coathangers are on their fifth studio album is powerful, blending jangling guitar riffs, a taste for fast car Americana and one of the tightest rhythm sections, in the persons Minnie and Rusty Coathanger, known to creation. They are proof that where there is beat, there is intrigue. They blow out cool blues rich solos like on 'Dumb Baby' and play impishly on the call and response 'Squeeki Tiki' that uses a squeeze toy as an instrument. A few times through 'Nosebleed Weekend' I felt a strong Shonen Knife vibe, like 'Hiya', a song built on a steady beat, with a wet behind the ears, fun loving refrain.
One of the coolest aspects that the Coathangers bring is a shared vocal responsibility, allowing constant shifts in the band’s spoken voice. On one track they can be tongue in cheek, as described above, while on another they can go take a raw turn, like 'Make It Right' and urgent on 'Down Down' which is one of the stand out tracks on the record.
The songwriting and production on 'Nosebleed Weekend' are clean and mostly straightforward, with few exceptions, such as 'Watch Your Back' which is a little sloppy, feeling like an old Angry Samoans song and the creeping closer, 'Copycat' a track that although an outlier, really creates a context for their level of complexity. The Coathangers aren’t going to be lauded for breaking new ground, neither in punk, nor in power pop but who the heck cares. They’re here to keep the conversation lively.
Track Listing:-
1
Perfume
2
Dumb Baby
3
Squeeki Tiki
4
Excuse Me?
5
Make It Right
6
Nosebleed Weekend
7
Watch Your Back
8
Burn Me
9
I Don't Think So
10
Down Down
11
Hiya
12
Had Enough
13
Copycat
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/TheCoathanger
http://thecoathangers.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBq9
https://twitter.com/thecoathangers
http://thecoathangers.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thecoathange