A thought occurred to the Bluesbunny. You know how everyone is trying to find an ecologically sound way to generate the energy we all need for toasters, plasma televisions and lava lamps. They put those big windmill things on top of a hill - which is all very fine and dandy - but perhaps there is a better way. As we were listening to this album by Detroit punk band Choking Susan forego all that nicely polished production and get right into the energy creation business.
Loud, noisy and lo-fi, this album was a bit of a time travel experiment for us. The sound is raw and unforgiving and harks back to the halcyon days of punk but there is no doubting the honesty of the performance. You will annoy the neighbours but, hell, it will kill any thought of listening to the Sugababes stone dead. Underneath it all is some fairly conventional song writing but it is played with verve. "Luv U So Much It Makes Me Sick" snarls with self loathing and frustration but Coleen Caffeine's vocals are more Shangri-Las than Siouxsie. That is a pretty cunning plan. Wrap up a pop song in a punk wrapper and it gives a band the excuse they need to play it extra loud. "On My Mind" and "Lover, Lover" follow in a similar lyrical vein. Our favourite track was "X". It lulled us into a false sense of security with its gentle, melodic opening but the all hell breaks loose as Choking Susan make a full power dash for the finish line with us cheering them on.
Respect where it is due - this album may not be particularly original but it works! Our recommendation is to buy it (of course!) and crank up the volume to the max.