Hot Damn!--The Girl Can't Help It
Steel Cage 2004
One of the most frustrating things about being a music fan is when you discover a killer band only for them to drop off the face of the earth, never to be heard from again. Sometimes, such a band will eventually resurface, often to mixed results. After a six year gap, Hot Damn are back with a new effort in The Girl Can't Help It. Thankfully, the results are more convincing than not.
Hot Damn's souped up brand of punk rock n' roll comes off like the 440's would if they were houseband at a sex party in hell, instead of a hot rod rally. This is pretty unrelenting stuff, to say the least--13 songs in about 27 and a half minutes. The Girl Can't Help It is also brimming with campiness, kind of like if the blackened voodoo energy of prime Cramps was in a blender with the sex starved swagger of the Demolition Doll Rods. It fits the music to a tee, making this band and album the total package.
As fast as it breezes by, The Girl Can't Help It manages to have some memorable moments from the songwriting perspective. "I'm Hooked" proves to be the most furious of the batch, cultivating a bit of Funhouse-era Stooges vibe. "Can't Put It Away" rocks hardest and lingers most, thanks to its catchy hook. The slower temoped "She's A Devil" sees Hot Damn at their sexiest, while the slide guitar lead on the brilliantly titled "No Car, No Phone, No Life" totally kills. Sax injected covers of "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Short Shorts" bookend the whole shebang, keeping this album tied up in a neat little bow.
Fans of any the forementioned bands or styles should be advised to give The Girl Can't Help It a spin. Hot Damn are able to keep the energy level up and sustained here about as well as one could hope for. Worth the wait? You bet.
Score this CD directly from STEEL CAGE
|
