The Geraldine Fibbers-- Butch (Virgin 44419)

The second Geraldine Fibbers' major-label release should dispel once and for all the notion that this L.A.-based quartet is a "cowpunk" ensemble. Indeed, the album ventures far beyond the aggro-punk / woozy-country polarity which was stuck to the band's reputation.

Instead, Butch runs wild through a genre fuck. "I Killed the Cuckoo" could easily pass for a Brainiac electro-riot number, the instrumental "Claudine" sounds like a mellowed-out Royal Trux, while recently departed violinist Jessy Greene creates a tension that adds texture to the atmospherics of the title track and "Arrow To The Drunken Eye."

In fact, the Fibbers offer listeners only two pseudo-country tracks. But instead of emoting the plaintive nostalgia that too many bands aim for, lead singer Carla Bozulich offers campy send-ups of Appalachian folk. While these efforts don't pay off, what they do is highlight the cacophonous vocal and instrumental aggression on much of the rest of Butch.

Bozulich knows exactly what she wants and she ain't getting it, so when she screams "I fucked my first fruit today / Lousy lay!" on "Toy Box," she manages to sound like a pissed off Thalia Zedek (no small feat). Her manic-depressive delivery, well-complemented by the rest of the band, doesn't always make Butch an easy listen, but the album's aggression, ambition and diversity make it unique.

So unique that when the singer deadpans in a fake-bluesy drawl, "I'm going back to the place where / Folks like me are from," you know that a band like the Fibbers could only have come straight from L.A.

--- Stephen Head