I love how The Coathangers’ (Julia Kugel – guitar and vocals, Meredith Franco – bass and vocals, Stephanie Luke – drums and vocals) newest record, Nosebleed Weekend, starts its first song, “Perfume,” with a drum riff that sounds like something that belongs in an Acid Girls techno floor stomper but then switches to a solid rock beat, swaggering guitars, swinging 60’s bass, and lovely harmonized vocals.
The vocals on “Dumb Baby” shout to the back wall while the music gives you a happy beating while they sing about how their sapiosexual brains can’t handle their lovers’ stupidity (“I’ll still love you, darlin’, but you’re so dumb…”).
If “Squeeki Tiki” doesn’t make you love this album, I don’t know what will. They play a squeaky toy on it…and they play it well. Who needs an expensive synthesizer when you can get the sound you want with a squeaky toy you picked up at the county fair? The song’s about a memento the singer wants to ditch because it reminds her of her ex-lover (“You can have it. I don’t want that shit. It’s just a bad memory of what I did.”).
“Excuse Me?” has some neat spaghetti western-like guitar in the slow parts it that I love and blaring, angry guitar in the fast parts that’s just as good. “Make It Right” is old school “break up punk” – a love song hidden (not subtly, if you pay attention) in a punk rock jam.
The title track is a dangerous one in which the singer pretty much tells her lover that he can fool around as much he wants as long as he knows he’s in for a knuckle sandwich when he comes back home after all that philandering. “Watch Your Back” shows off the band’s love of Buzzcocks, because it’s great pop-punk with some wicked high-hat work and crazy surf guitar to boot. “Burn Me” keeps that pop/surf-punk groove going (which shouldn’t be a surprise since this album was recorded in southern California instead of their usual hometown Atlanta digs).
“I Don’t Think So” still has a bit of a surf edge and is such a pretty break-up song that you can’t feel too sad for the singer, even with sad lyrics like “I’m tired of staring at the phone like it’s a person.” You know she’s going to get through it. “Down Down” is good power rock, and “Hiya” is more fun pop-punk as the singer sees an old flame again after a long time (“All I wanna do is hear you say, ‘Hiya.’”).
I love how the power chords and angry vocals of “Had Enough” are backed with fun and light backing vocals during the verses. It also has this quirky, neat, brief guitar solo in it that makes you think the song is going in a different direction before it yanks you back to the rock licks. “Copycat,” the closer, is sexy, a bit creepy, and even, I dare say, a bit shoegaze with its instrumentation and slightly reverbed vocals.
Every song has sharp and witty lyrics about loves lost and found, sex good and bad, and longings and kiss-offs. The Coathangers can blend surf, pop-punk, and fuzz-rock like few others can and Nosebleed Weekend is one of the best 2016 records about relationships I’ve heard so far.
Keep your mind open.
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