Babes In Toyland

Nemesisters (1995)

ChrisGorman2

CD's by Babes In Toyland, like fellow scene-mates Bikini Kill, 7 Year Bitch, and others of that ilk, are not usually among the collections of your average male. However, I saw this disc in a discount bin a couple years ago, and I had figured it looked a little more appealing than say, "The Best of Richard Marx. So I grabbed it. While it didn't blow my mind, it opened me up to a side of punk that I had not really experienced. While I had been fixated on groups like Green Day (BIT's label-mates, incidently) and bands of that nature, I had never listened to much from the riot grrrl movement.

Babes In Toyland are slow. No doubt about that. There are very few up-tempo, upbeat numbers on here. Most of the songs tend to be sludgy alt-punk or, dare I say it, metal. Singer Kat Bjelland screams, and the band lays down metallic grooves that conjure up a female Melvins. For some songs, this formula seems to work. Songs like "Hello", "Oh Yeah" and "Sweet 69" are pretty enjoyable, just good, hard rock. However, by the time you reach the three cover songs at the end ("All By Myself", "Deep Song" and "We Are Family"), the listener will probably be feeling pretty bored. You don't need to have a rainy day to throw this on - it brings plenty of gloom by itself.

I'll keep this short. If you like this sort of thing, that is, the post-grunge riot grrrl movement, then by all means, get this. Hell, you probably already have it. However, If you are just looking to dip your toes in the water, then don't start here. I'd recommend Bikini Kill and early Hole, maybe even L7 before I recommend this. I like it, but it's not something I find myself listening to much anymore.