CD Review of Get the Gore by Gore Gore Girls

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Gore Gore Girls: Get the Gore Label: Bloodshot Released: 2007

Disclaimer: This band, despite the name, has no connection to Al Gore or his daughters, commonly referred to as the Gore Girls. These ass-kickin' Motown wenches don't give a damn about global warming, judging from their latest and greatest record, inspired by the Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" girl groups that once competed with the Beatles on the pop charts. They play beautiful noise: Lo-fi, full-on garage-punk. Sung, screamed, or shouted, depending on what the song calls for.

But hey, 35 years have passed since Spector crafted his legendary AM-ready tracks. The American quaintness of “Leave it to Beaver” is gone, replaced with hard realities of a teen population popping insane numbers of prescription pills with the full endorsement of their caretakers, the Iraq war, and crappy cell-phone coverage. Oh yeah, guys, there's this little thing called feminism going on. Against this backdrop, these gals thrash their guitars like the Clash and turn the tables on the Shangri-La's: The Gores now lead the pack, not some bike-riding chump of a boyfriend named Jimmy who can't keep his wheels between the lines. Their heroes are girls like the one portrayed in "Mary Ann": “Five feet eight and ready to fight / She's tired of where she's at / It's a personal blight.”

Also, according to the song "Pleasure Unit," they are not going to spend a lot of time banging you like "every day's a wedding night."

"Well I've got news for you," sings front-cutie Amy Gore in one of the better rhyming couplets on the disc, "I've got better things to do."

Which is okay, because whether it's good-looking chicks, average-looking chicks, or nappy-headed-like-me chicks playing on the stage, it's just fine as long as they bring the rock. And these gals do, usually at fast speed with grrrl attitude and delicious Beach Boys hooks—"Don't Cry" will eat away at your brain upon first playing, and "Sweet Potato" is a delicious, poppy twist on original '60s garage-rock group the Shadows of Knight's "Potato Chip." Replacing Phil Spector's patented wall of sound with a wall of distortion straight out of the White Stripes school, the Gore Gore Girls also tip their hats to the garage bands of yore—and showcase the abilities of guitarist Hammer—with "Hammer Stomp," a tight little instrumental clocking in under two minutes. The world needs more Gore, played louder and faster. Go forth and crank.