Some things just get better with age, like the Violent Femmes. After a 15 year hiatus, the Femmes are back with a fantabulous new album, We Can Do Anything.
Since first blasting onto the music scene in 1983, the Femmes have released 8 albums including their debut album, Violent Femmes, which spawned such classic tracks as “Blister In The Sun,” “Add It Up,” and “Gone Daddy Gone.” We Can Do Anything continues this lineage of the Femmes’ ramshackle, quirky, folk, alt country, punky sound.
One of the Femmes’ most attractive qualities is their sense of humor, which is as present as ever on tracks like “I Could Be Anything,” “Foothills” and my personal fave, “Issues,” where Gordon Gano pleads, “You try to tell me about your issues. I don’t need to know about them anymore….I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t care!” There are a few slow tempo songs, “What You Really Mean” and “Untrue Love,” as well as the raucous frenzy that this band is synonymous for like “Memory,” “Holy Ghost,” and “Traveling Solves Everything.”
Musically, the Violent Femmes are as sharp and as tight as ever, with their newest member John Sparrow holding down the rockin’ beat on drums, Brian Ritchie’s acoustic slap-happy bass lines and frontman Gordon Gano’s sometimes thrashing and waltz-like guitar and atonal Lou Reedesque vocals and sharp witty lyrics.
Longstanding fans and new alike will most certainly take delight in that these 10 stellar new tacks. The Violent Femmes are back in full force and taking it out on the road to prove it. Check out their tour dates below. Their live show is not to be missed!
Rating: 5 Boobs
VIOLENT FEMMES ON TOUR 2016
MAY
2 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
3 – Phoenix, AZ – Marquee Theatre
5 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl
6 – San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay
7 – Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre
8 – Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory
10 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
11 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
13 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
14 – Seattle, WA – Showbox at the Market
15 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
17 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
18 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory Concert House
19 – Missoula, MT – The Wilma
ADDITIONAL DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
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