Tuesday 4 May 2010

HOLE – NOBODY’S DAUGHTER (MERCURY)


HOLE – NOBODY’S DAUGHTER (MERCURY)

It doesn’t start well.  What happened to her voice?  Probably the same thing that happened to her band.

Things pick up as “Skinny Little Bitch” at least possesses some kind of bite, displaying the degree of anger that once made this lady extraordinary and this band (as was) exception.  It all still sounds a bit too slick though.

When I saw the tracklisting and “Pacific Coast Highway” initially I thought that this was a smart take on the Sonic Youth song of the same name but instead it would appear that it is Courtney making a petty gesture to niggle them, to steal the title of one of their finest moments.  These things just don’t quit.

A strange thing happens as while I listen to the song “Honey” I find myself beginning to sing “On Your Own” by The Verve.  Now this is something I was not expecting from this album.

This record feels like the continuation (and indulgence) of her Fleetwood Mac fantasy.  Gone are prior moments of punk snap as stock gestures and big budget production defang and declaw what once was a very exciting proposition.  Far too often the songs plod, opening with an acoustic introduction that I guess is supposed to explode into incendiary rock guitar which never really packs a punch.  Also there are strings and piano, often a clear indication of an act turning flat.  The absolute worst moment comes with “Letter To God” which is literally that, Courtney reading a letter to her maker all done to the intro of Stairway To Heaven.

As I said a couple of times there are high tempo tracks such as “Skinny Little Bitch” and “Loser Dust” that do remind of Celebrity Skin but these moments are too few and far between.

Lyrically it feels like a stage, pretend breakdown seemingly designed to hide/cover up the real one that is occurring.  Song titles such as “How Dirty Girls Get Clean” and the final declaration of defiance “Never Go Hungry” are indicative of just how try hard it all is.

This is a bad album.  But what did I expect?

Ultimately it is perhaps a good thing that Kurt never saw the day that this thing came to exist.  With this in mind you begin to wonder what Frances Bean thinks of it.  Is she ashamed?  Is she embarrassed?  Or is she just relieved that some income is finally coming in and that they can go back to three square meals a day.  In a way you almost imagine the Frances Bean existence to be that of Saffy from Absolutely Fabulous these days.  Much like this music, it does not paint a pretty picture.

She brought it all on herself.

Thesaurus moment: funnel.

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