Le Butcherettes
bi/MENTAL

They are described as a garage punk band from Guadalajara, nowadays from El Paso. They have three albums before this one, this new album called bi/MENTAL that is said to take out a new direction for the band. They have changed the producer and such things. The cover looks like something I could imagine buying, it kind of raises interests somewhat. They also seem to have connections to some interesting bands/projects making them seem like a fairly interesting prospect for a potential new band to look up. What this new direction the press material alludes to really means is not really possible for me to judge as I have no prior knowledge of this band and researching their discography would require time that I don’t really have but I think that they have something interesting going on here.

Stylewise they take off from a punkish base, it is rebellious, fresh, engaged – kind of edgy like you would want it to be. Fairly dynamic soundscape. The production is good and they have a sound that fits the style they offer very well. The singer is good, she is engaged in her subjects and has a strong passion for what she sings about, at least she seems to have and that suits an album like this perfectly. The quality is a bit uneven though, something that could be construed as a weakness. But the variation over the tracks is rather good and the playing time feels fairly sensible.

I think that this is a good album; it has some really exciting tracks and feels like a creatively interesting release but the uneven quality prevents me from giving it a high rating. Nevertheless, it could most certainly be worth checking out, as the highlights are quite strong. The weaker points are on the duller side and don’t really move the album forward and they are about as many as the stronger points, so the album weights itself out somewhere in the middle of the scale. Perhaps it is a bit experimental and things don’t always come off, it feels a tad raw but also brave and interesting – it shows lots of promise. But that would depend on which way the band choses to go forwards, but if they chose one of the paths present it would allow for the potential of creating something really exciting in the future.

Teri Gender Bender and her band have put together a strong creative effort here, it is a bit up and down in terms of quality but I like it. I also think that those into the more punkish side of music will find this album even more interesting, so if you are one of those you should have a look at this album.

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