The Distillers - Coral Fang

I will admit I was guilty of disliking the Distillers before I had even really heard them. Here was this Brody Armstrong, child-bride of Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, who seemed to be riding his coattails and stole Courtney Love’s voice along the way. Then she was all over the place sucking face with Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and then (conveniently) released an album through all this. Hmmmm… I am rarely wrong, but this time I had misjudged Brody (now Dalle) and The Distillers. Who is to say why her album got such promotion? The bottom line is: it is worth listening to and the Distillers have carved out a place for themselves. Coral Fang is way more than a punk album. Punk influences and guitar hooks are a-plenty, but the album contains (gasp!) some great melodic rock hooks (the chorus of “Dismantle Me”) and even some great harmonies, once Brody drops the I-swallowed-razor-baldes method of singing - she can carry a tune, and showcases it well (ie. “Coral Fang). The music is fast, never dull, and rips by before you even realize you have sat through the whole thing. It is angry without being grotesque, and hauntingly beautiful. Overall, this is one of the greatest rock albums released this year, and I hope that The Distillers get credit for being The Distillers, and not because Brody is on every magazine’s special “Women in Rock” issue. I’m sorry, Brody, for misjudging your awesomeness. [www.thedistillers.com]