Le Butcherettes - A Raw Youth (New CD)

There's a moment in all of our lives where we learn of the great injustices around us and decide what we're going to do about it on a personal level, you could sum it up as, to conform or not to conform. Le Butcherettes - Teri Gender Bender (vocals/guitar/piano), Chris Common (drums), and Jamie Aaron (bass) - examine that push-and-pull on their third full-length album, A Raw Youth (Ipecac Recordings). Album opener "Shave The Pride" teeters between a kinetic guitar buzz and a sizzling call-to-arms chorus. Later on the album, "They F*** You Over" brings things full circle for Teri who penned the initial framework of the song at only 16-years-old. The record continues a tradition of collaboration with iconic guitarist John Frusciante adding a psychedelic swoon to record closer "My Half." Meanwhile, previous tour mate Iggy Pop adds a gritty sense of savoir faire to the gnashing vaudevillian stomp of "La Uva."