The Coathangers
Suck My Shirt
Reviewed by: Stephen Krock
Seven years ago, The Coathangers were a band before they were musicians. Banding together, as it were, to play local joints and parties with a strictly “just for fun” mantra. Time has seen growth, but thankfully no stuffy refinement, in this fourth album, Suck My Shirt, so named for an inside joke concerning spilled tequila.
The Coathangers have not lost their bombastic dissonance and garage rock minimalism, as heard in flagship tracks like “Follow Me” and “Merry Go Round.” The former of which harkens back to The Ramones, from whom the band clearly draws more than a small amount of inspiration. And the latter is a repetitive punk chorus that’ll pound on the walls until they come crumbling down. Sprinkled along the jagged path, however, are impressive guitar riffs and intricate, earworming hooks like in the stellar “Dead Battery” and even a somewhat softer side in the Blondie-esque “Zombie.” Just as solid: the vocal range. The raspy vocals can shred some throat skin, which is more often than not, but they can sweeten it up and harmonize like champs as well.
The good news is that The Coathangers have not lost the happy accident charm of their inception. The bad news. Well. There is no bad news. The Coathangers rock. Listen.
Rating: Bad-Ass
