7 Year Bitch, Sick `Em

Hmm. This just sounds a bit dated by today's standards. Seems to suffer from the same disjunction between the intensity of the vocals and the out and out generic sound of the music (I'm guessing that bad production's mostly responsible) as most of The Rollins Band's output. I do feel somewhat bad saying that, though, as guitarist Stefanie Sargent died before this album was released. "No Fucking War" is pretty much the only track that gets off the ground; "Dead Men Don't Rape" isn't nearly as exciting as its title. Something tells me this stuff would be a lot more enjoyable if heard live in 1992 (Hey! A quick look at the liner notes tells me that that's the same year this record came out!) in a packed mid-size club with a few Heineken in me. From what my Babes In Toyland obsessed high school girlfriend told me, 7 Year Bitch got a lot better over the course of their second and third albums, so take all of this with a grain of salt. Bonus tidbit! Years ago I lent this album to a friend who was bent on listening to anything and everything that had come out of Seattle during the era of Sub Pop (this isn't on Sub Pop, but you know what I'm talkin' about). He held on to the damn thing for over a year; when I got it back the case was (and still is) covered in congealed beer marks. Gross.

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