GORDON GANO
Hitting The Ground (Instinct)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

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Day after day I wait for the long lost sound of the Violent Femmes, the herky jerky sardonic angst punk pop perfect for convulsive dance stepping. The anthems of raging twitty teens ruled back in the eighties, but the Femmes quickly ran outta gas, and the tank's been empty since. Little Gordon Gano finally sheds the group moniker and steps up to the mike to give it one more try. Well actually, he only steps up to the mike thrice, but it is his album, and it is his songs, and they are the closest Gano's come to creating the wild abandonment music circus of the Femmes' debut slab since the unfortunate downward spiral (see above, and please pay attention). PJ Harvey, Frank Black, Lou Reed and a buncha other big shots lend their talents, but don't let that star studded smokescreen trick you away from the one important fact here: Gordon Gano's writing thrill is back, and we must rejoice.

© 2002 - John Sekerka