Been back listening to The Distillers since I played Joan Jett and the Blackhearts quite excessively a few days ago. To me, The Distillers are the young punk rock version of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. While the singer, Brody Dalle, is like a deadly combo of Joan Jett x Patti Smith (check out her reinterpretation of Smith’s “Ask the Angels”, Smith’s voice meets Jett’s ‘tude!).
My most favourite track by The Distillers is actually “LA Girl”. Fast, forceful, abrasive—Joan Jett and the Blackhearts on steroids, like Patti Smith fronting The Damned. Too bad I couldn’t find the high def version of the video. But this one is still as badass af: The Distillers performing “Drain the Blood” live at the Reading Festival, 2004.
“Drain the Blood” is included in their third full-length album, Coral Fang. It was a nominee for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single in 2004. While the album, compared to the last two, is more diverse musically, primarily influenced by grunge, and lyrically inspired by the fallout of Brody Dalle’s marriage to Tim Armstrong and the subsequent media attention and controversy surrounding it. “I felt free for the very first time in my life. I felt like I was starting to become in charge of myself,” says Ms. Dalle.
Vice considers Coral Fang to be one of the top albums of the 2000s. Kerrang! ranked it as the seventh best album of 2003. In the same year, it was named number 20 on Q magazine’s Recording of the Year list.
Have a fast, forceful, and abrasive Sunday, y’all!
💧 You might also like BAD REPUTATION.
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Featured image via Melkweg Amsterdam.
