Coral Fang

The Distillers: Brody Dalle, Tony Bradley (vocals, guitar); Ryan Sinn (vocals, bass); Andy Granelli (drums).
A fiercely passionate juggernaut of punk-fueled rock & roll, CORAL FANG goes straight for the throat from the opening surge of "Drain the Blood." The Distillers are the street-worn vehicle of Brody Dalle, who exorcises her former surname, Armstrong (as in Tim Armstrong of Rancid), in almost every hard-charging song on FANG. As far as break-up albums go, this one's a doozy, largely due to Dalle's gargled-with-gravel voice, which makes Courtney Love sound like a dainty 10-year-old schoolgirl.
Impressively, Dalle's self-penned tunes match her gutsy singing, and thanks to her proficient band and Gil Norton's muscular production, certain tracks sound like they could be outtakes from Nirvana's IN UTERO, most noticeably the stomping "The Gallow Is God." Other songs--such as "Dismantle Me," "Die on a Rope," "Love Is Paranoid," and the title track--pulse with a faster, frantic punk energy, while "The Hunger" leads off with an acoustic guitar and "For Tonight You're Only Here to Know" is propelled by a catchy, new wave guitar riff. A welcome antidote to the faux angst peddled by many bands, CORAL FANG proves that the Distillers can channel real rage and frustration into some seriously potent music.