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The Chicken Hawks come busting out of the
nether world that is Sioux City , Iowa with a sound that draws
from the gritty rock arena as well as from a touch of glam.
Wanna call them part of the new metal happenings, that 's
fine, but they are much more than that. This is rock and roll
as it's meant to be-loud, gritty and sun. Just rest assured
that these two wome n and two men will rip your little chicken-hearts
out and force them back down your throats. And you will like
it!
Look no further than the gritty blues influenced
vibe of "High From Basta rd City." Is this the bastard son
of Lightning Hopkins and the Dolls? C ould be. There's nothing
fancy here: it's just heartfelt solid blues inf luenced punk
rock. No, it's not that speedy kind of metal that folks are
digging-it's smart and restrained (so to speak), even through
all the in herent delinquency. The short "Teenager" draws
from the same school as v intage X. There's a quick and tight
refrain peppered with just a few lea ding moments. It's all
in the feel, and the 'Hawks prove that they've go t the heart
and fire to make an impact. "They Wanna Fight" chronicles
th e "bad girls" scene. It fits the band well, even though
it is a cover cr edited to the (I would assume) male ensemble
Chuck Herrod and the Anteate rs. They take things to the most
basic level with the inane "Stick It In ," a fairly routine
punk groove with a pile of stupid party lyrics. Bets y Phillips'
slurry and vital delivery makes up for the stupidness of the
lyrics. One thing is for certain, though, they know how to
rock hard and they do it well. Tap a keg of attitude for the
bombastic "Bad Bitch Boo gie," where Phillips lays a set of
confrontational and slurred lyrics ove r a very Cramps guitar
structure. "Get Loose" begins with some noisy gui tar explosions
before settling into a very old school punk refrain. Phil
lips again loads her vocals with raspy and mostly incomprehensible
lyrics (thank god for the lyric sheet) but who really needs
to know what's bein g said when a barrage of guitars and drums
are beating you upside the hea d? And what would an album
by a band called The Chicken Hawks be without some song referencing
Foghorn Leghorn-you'll find that on the second cut , "Foghorn's
Blues," another balls to the wall exercise in speed and punk
vocals. Do you get the picture? Good, because the rest of
this 21 minu te record is more of the same.
Who says that you have to come from New
York City or Los Angeles to feel that angst? There's plenty
enough to go around in the rural areas. Yep, they certainly
did their time in L.A. creating a following along the way
(Hell, the record was produced by the Humpers guitarist Mark
Lee and Sal ly Browder, whose credits include Wayne Kramer.)
The Chicken Hawks do on e thing well--they play some kick-ass
rock and roll. No pretension, no r ock star attitudes, just
the basic most gritty rock and roll that you can find. It's
fast, it's chunky and it's just plain fun. That's why The
C hicken Hawks should be heard...and heard LOUD.
-tom topkoff
Track Listing:
1. Stick It In
2. Foghorn's Blues
3. High From Bastard City
4. Bad Bitch Boogie
5. High Profile
6. Tornado
7. They Wanna Fight
8. Get Loose
9. Heart Throb Man
10. Fuck Minneapolis
11. Teenager
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