Violent Femmes

This is such a fun album. Been listening to this a lot since high school, and always glad to give it another spin

A staple of the genre - their latter work is pretty solid as well.

3.25

An 80s classic...Bumped back up to 4 stars on subsequent re-listens.

Il y a des disques qui vous tombent dessus sans prévenir, comme une averse en plein mois d’août ou une révélation mystique au rayon surgelés du supermarché. Le premier album éponyme des Violent Femmes, c’est exactement ça. Une claque, un ovni musical qui, en 1983, a débarqué dans un paysage sonore dominé par les synthétiseurs rutilants de Duran Duran, les clips pharaoniques de Michael Jackson et la pop colorée de Culture Club. Autant dire qu’à côté, ces trois types du Wisconsin avec leur instrumentation à la con ressemblaient à des amish égarés à une convention de tuning.

Ce qui est génial avec cet album, c'est ce mélange des genres totalement improbable et pourtant si évident. C'est du punk, mais joué avec une contrebasse acoustique, une guitare sèche et une batterie minimaliste qui se résume souvent à une caisse claire martyrisée par des balais. C'est du folk, mais avec l'énergie rageuse et l'urgence du punk. C'est du rockabilly déglingué qui aurait forniqué avec le fantôme de Woody Guthrie. C'est tout ça à la fois et c'est surtout un son unique, reconnaissable entre mille.

Là où les punks hurlaient "No Future" en se tailladant les veines, les Violent Femmes, eux, chantaient la frustration sexuelle crasse, l'aliénation adolescente dans ce qu'elle a de plus pathétique et de plus authentique. Les paroles de Gano sont des petits chefs-d'oeuvre de névrose ordinaire. "Kiss Off" et son décompte nihiliste, "Add It Up" et son cri du coeur hormonal ("Why can't I get just one fuck?"), "Prove My Love"... C'est le journal intime d'un puceau magnifique et d'un poète maudit de supérette. Il n'y a pas de pose là-dedans, c'est brut, c'est honnête, et c'est pour ça que ça parle encore à des générations de gamins qui se sentent à côté de la plaque.

Cet album est un classique qui n'a pas pris une ride et c’est même son plus grand tour de force. Prenez n'importe quel disque de 1983 avec des tonnes de synthés et de boîtes à rythmes Simmons, et ça sonne daté, c'est un bibelot sonore. Prenez ce premier Violent Femmes, et il pourrait avoir été enregistré la semaine dernière dans un garage à Rennes ou à Seattle. Pourquoi ? Parce que l'instrumentation est intemporelle et que l'angoisse adolescente, elle, ne se démode jamais. Le son est sec, sans artifice, sans la réverbération dégueulasse qui a souillé une bonne partie de la production des années 80. C'est direct, dans ta gueule, comme une bonne bière fraîche et amère.

L'histoire de cet album est d'ailleurs aussi atypique que sa musique. Il a été enregistré pour une bouchée de pain et a mis près de dix ans à devenir disque de platine, sans jamais vraiment entrer dans les classements officiels. C'est le triomphe du bouche-à-oreille, l'album culte par excellence, celui que les grands frères passent aux plus jeunes comme un secret, une initiation.

Alors, en le réécoutant pour ce projet "1001 Albums", je me dit que mon 4/5 est parfaitement justifié. Ce n'est peut-être pas l'album le plus complexe ou le plus révolutionnaire sur le plan technique, mais son impact, sa sincérité et sa longévité en font une pièce maîtresse. C'est un disque qui ne ment pas. Il pue la frustration, la maladresse et le désir. Il a l'odeur des chambres d'ados, des fêtes ratées et des espoirs déçus. C'est un disque nécessaire, un compagnon de route pour tous les coeurs malmenés.

I'm surprised by how modern this sounds. I'd previously liked 'Gone Daddy Gone', and looked this band up, thinking they were like late nineties or something. It's mad that this was early 80's as it doesn't sound like it at all.

It's got some good songs, however a lot of songs really drag, especially the slower ones where he's doing his manic, Lou Reed kind of thing. The upbeat tracks are way better.

Here's an album I've known since I was 14, and was inarguably one of the gateway albums to my love of punk. Blister In The Sun, Kiss Off, and Add It Up remain timeless classics. How these songs still sound so aggressive, played on acoustic bass, a cocktail drum kit, and a guitar with virtually no fuzz is still a mystery to me. Proof positive that early punk was an attitude more so than a sound.

I had never heard of Violent Femmes before, so I went into this album with no expectations. What surprised me most was how ahead of its time it sounded—despite being released in the 80s, it has a raw, lo-fi energy that feels more in line with 90s indie rock. The band’s stripped-down sound and unfiltered intensity immediately stood out to me.

Favorite song: Blister in the Sun—an undeniably catchy and infectious track.
Least favorite song: Honestly, I enjoyed every song on the album and will definitely be giving it another listen.
Album artwork: A slightly eerie cover that adds to the album’s offbeat charm.

I knew Blister in the Sun, but because for me that song walks the very fine line that separates amazing from annoying, I never tried listening to anything else by the Violent Femmes. Turns out they can walk that line for an entire album - I really enjoyed this.

YOU CANNOT FUCK WITH THIS BAND!

This album has no bad songs. A masterpiece with no wasted space. Even if you include the two bonus tracks every song is amazing. Although Good Feeling is one of the best closers of all time, so the bonus tracks throw off the flow of the original. Gordon Gano’s songwriting and vocals are so full of teen angst mixed with his unique sense of humor. There are some laugh out loud funny moments on this album in the best way, “hey dad, speaking of driving…” on the bonus track being my personal favorite, what a hilarious payoff! Then there’s Brian Ritchie’s incredible acoustic bass playing, this guy is incredible. And let’s not forget Victor DeLorenzo stirring the soup on his weird trash can drum. Somehow these three came together and made one of the best punk albums of all time, and invented folk punk to boot! An all time great album that definitely deserves to be on this list.

Absolutely rockin bass lines.

Gutes Album der 80er mit spannenden Songs. Die ein wenig Ska und Wave Elemente vorweisen. „Blister In The Sun“ & „Kiss Off“ sind gute Beispiele dieses Stills.

Solid album. Definitely feels similar to B-52'S in a way but punkier. I listened prior to most of it and I probably will again. I like irreverence.

Not really sure what to make of this and if I actually like it or not. So going for a middle of the road rating.

What a great album. Blister in the Sun is obviously amazing, but so many of these tracks had me singing along and dancing. Absolutely loved it.

Not really my type.

Fun garage band rock. Enjoyable.

Someone called it Acoustic Punk and that's likely exactly the reason why I love this. With lyrics that are teenage frustration personified

I’ve heard of the Violent Femmes before, specifically the song “Blister in the Sun” which I consider a bop. That song happens to be the first song of their self-titled debut right here.

Much like the aforementioned song, this album is filled to the brim with folk-punk tunes, where the acoustic guitars are rollicking and playful alongside well-accented percussion from Victor DeLorenzo. Gordon Gano wrote in such a manner that this album maintains a high energy throughout its runtime.

The only song I didn't immediately gel with was "To the Kill", though with a second listen I came to realize that the tonal dissonance throughout song is still mildly cohesive in its structure and actually pairs well with the perverse lyrics of the narrator thinking about killing.

There’s a such a twisted fun nature throughout this album, and I have no doubt in giving this one high remarks. Check it out.

Teenage hormones meet acoustic punk. The dude's got his hands full. When he can't beat his meat, he plays guitar with as much passion, and when he can't pluck and strum that guitar, he gives his meat the same treatment.