Heavens to Betsy

Calculated (1994)

StephNJ

This album is just a work of art. Heavens to Betsy mixes punk, grunge, and indie styles to produce 12 distinct tracks featuring the raw vocals and guitar playing of Corin Tucker and the deceivingly simplistic drumming of Tracy Sawyer.
Few people can scream "I'm gonna kill you" as Corin does on "Terrorist" and sound like an understandably bitter women with whom the listener can sympathize. Then she can completely change moods with the six-minute ballad about the complexities of relationships, "Complicated," as well as the intelligent song "White Girl," which forces us middle class white people to take a good look at the unspoken racisms that exist in the scene.
Though the music isn't complex, it doesn't need to be. The passion is there, and though it may be tempting to think of this CD in terms of "riot grrrl" or "girl punk," try instead to view it just as music, music that will both challenge and inspire you.