Spinnerette - Spinnerette
Rating
RIYL
Eagles of Death MetalThe Distillers
Hole
Release Date
06/23/2009
Label
AnthemTracklist
1. Ghetto Love2. All Babes Are Wolves
3. Cupid
4. Geeking
5. Baptized by Fire
6. A Spectral Suspension
7. Distorting a Code
8. Sex Bomb
9. Driving Song
10. Rebellious Palpitations
11. The Walking Dead
12. Impaler
13. A Prescription for Mankind
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Brody Dalle has a swagger that not a lot of front-women have and a voice that is not hard to recognize. This time out she is not playing with her regular well known punk outfit, The Distillers, but is now fronting the group Spinnerette which she assembled herself. This group is not as fast paced or as aggressive as The Distillers, but that garage/distorted/rough rock n’ roll feel is still present in the tone. If anything, this sound is much more mature for Dalle and certainly more developed than what was created by The Distillers. This is by no means a way of saying The Distillers were bad (they certainly were not), it is merely a mention that Spinnerette is a pleasant change.
In picking the lineup, Dalle has surrounded herself with a stellar group of musicians. Artists such as Alan Johannes, a multi-instrumentalist formerly a member of both Eleven and Queens of the Stone Age, drummer Jack Irons of both Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam fame, and Tony Bevilacqua who played with Dalle in The Distillers. This stellar cast of characters backs up Dalle’s signature rough, raspy voice. Vocally, Dalle sounds better than ever as she strays away from the screaming and shines up her vocals for a more polished feel. Don’t fret Distillers fans, there are still some heavy jams that you’ll be able to sink your teeth into.
There is a little bit of diversity on the album ranging from the heavier and fast paced, sporadic dancing songs, to the all out scorching rock n’ roll tracks. “Ghetto Love” is a bass-heavy track that is tinged with a few rebel “Yeahs” given from Dalle to lead the album off. There a few catchy songs on this album such as “Driving Song”, “Baptized by Fire”, and the poppy “Rebellious Palpitations.” These songs give the album its character as a more fun loving, upbeat record, but there are others that showcase the band’s more creative side.
“Impaler” stomps along with a much darker quality and an almost “Arabian Nights” influence. It is a song that is completely different from anything else on the album. The track “A Spectral Suspension” goes through ups and downs, starting out slow before it bursts through the chorus in a fiery fashion. Adding to the stylistic variety, “Distorting A Code” is a much lighter and more ambient track that allows you to take a nice break from the rest of the album. Even with such a wide range of sounds, there are a few songs that would have been better left unmade.
The lackadaisical “Geeking” leads the way to a series of boring, unimpressive tracks such as “Driving Song” and the cheesy “Sex Bomb.” They are the songs that unfortunately take away from the quality of the album, killing the flow created by the beginning three tracks. If you are able to get through these, a light at the end of the tunnel awaits... assuming you are patient enough.
Where the album hits its high point is with the blistering “A Prescription for Mankind.” It is almost as if Dalle’s husband, front-man of Queens of the Stone Age Josh Homme, was at the helm telling her to give the album some backbone. If anything, it was just their way of saving the best for last.
This self-titled debut of Dalle’s Spinnerette is an album full of enjoyable tracks, but with a few that could lead to a listener losing focus. Even with all of the good, those bad tracks can detract from the overall quality of the album. Still, it is a decent album nonetheless.
--Andrew Beam
Comments
San Jose, CA
That's terrible album art and a good review.
last.fm/user/thetsaiguy
Markham, ON
Loved the EP, so I'll have to give this a shot.
P.S. This is what the alphabet would look like if you removed Q and R.
Green Brook, NJ
the best part of this CD is the cover. the music is average.
Leeds, England
I agree with Tim. This is pretty mediocre. I was a big fan of The Distillers last album (Coral Fang) back in the day. Not listened to it in ages but I think I'll give it another spin soonish.
Is that Brody on the cover? The back cover is of her ass (whoever it is).
Green Brook, NJ
don't think so. but brody is still hot. but yea, coral fang was awesome.
Somewhere in New York
Brody is beautiful. If I didn't love Josh Homme so much I would be incredibly jealous.
"If someone gives you a kazoo and toots around the house to MTV, they're not gonna fuck you." - David Cross