Teri Gender Bender Tears Garage Rock A New One

Mexico City garage punks Le Butcherettes have debuted with Sin Sin Sin, a slab of seductive and surreal rock that more than stands up to the mayhem of their live show.

Produced by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the recording has an immediacy that makes the listener feel as if they are watching the duo’s blood spattered cabaret unfold before their eyes. Riveting frontwoman/guitarist Teri Gender Bender manages to combine Nina Hagen and Joan Jett with a little bit of Frida Kahlo and a whole lot of Kim Deal. By that we mean she’s a weird girl with a powerful singing voice who likes to read. (Yeah, we have a crush on her.) Drummer/masked cipher Normandi Heuxdaflo plays Meg to her Jack White.

Their tuneful blues rock is animated by bizarre imagery and riot grrrl rage. Ms. Gender Bender calls out famous alpha-male literary figures like Henry Miller, 17th Century philosophers, and the patriarchy in general with evocative lines like, “We walk through the zoo at night/Tell your friends that I’m a fright.”

The diversity of the songs on the album keeps things — even more — interesting. “Leibniz Language,” is a stand out driven by moody, punk organ, and, like all the songs on the album, follows a multi-part song structure. “The Actress That Ate Rousseau” has a jazzy streak that recalls The Noisettes, while songs like “Bang!” are a little more direct about rocking your face off.

Bikini Kill plus books? The Magnetic Fields plus heavy riffs? However you want to file it, Sin Sin Sin is recommended for fans of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Kills, or The White Stripes, and highly recommended for anyone getting over a break up with a dude, or anyone who just needs something to drown out the D-bags having loud, ignorant conversations on public transit.

Photo Courtesy of Le Butcherettes