BY MIKEY MIGO
If you've been paying attention, you'd know that over the past year or so that I occasionally pop up with a "First Impressions" article. The purpose of it is to expand my and possibly your music knowledge. There are just so many bands and so much music out there that it's impossible to take it all in. It's not just a "eww, that's gotta suck" situation, but could be for many different reasons. For me a lot of the time it's just the lack of personal exposure. For whatever reason, my ears have not knowingly crossed paths with specific artists and groups. Some like Simon and Garfunkel, The Smiths, Eagles of Death Metal, and others were a pleasure to listen to and I find their music now in my normal rotation. Then there are some like Kings of Leon, Portishead, and others who I feel were not only a waste of time but hell on the ears. It's all subjective, but this allows one to be subjective with a solid impression behind it.
I don't know much about the actual band The Distillers. I know I've heard a few songs here and there but couldn't tell you anything about them. I know they're punkish and the lead singer Brody kind of sounded like Courtney Love. Maybe I drunk when I heard them or let me say I HOPE I was drunk when I heard them. Three albums of that would kill my ears. I also know that Brody is now married to Josh Homme of "Queens of the Stone Age" and now "Them Crooked Vultures". Other than that gossipy stuff and the fact that I know the band is no more is about all I could tell you about this band.
In order to gain a fair and honest perspective, let's take a listen to the three studio albums of The Distillers.
Album: The Distillers
Year: 2000
Duration: 40:15
We kick off the first studio album with "Oh Serena" and it's just about what I expected. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's got edge AND it's catchy, which is a rarity these days outside of "pop punk". I'm won even more over with "Idoless". It's angry and full of force. You can't help but head bang along to the rant-madness that it is.
"World Comes Tumblin' Down" is a step back from the harder stuff and provides a lighter melody that ends up being pretty damn catchy. "L.A. Girl" is another bad ass track that covers ones dream of success and the travels to LA. Song writing and narrative is often buried in harder punk like this, but not the case here. You know what she's saying and it still rocks. "Distilla Truant" isn't bad, but didn't grab me as much as the first four tracks. We get a Patti Smith cover in "Ask the Angels". It's a solid cover with tons of energy, but I really think the original work has more "oomph" behind it. "Old Scratch" follows up and has that missing "oomph" and is a lot of fun for so short at :43. Not much longer at 1:14, "Girl Fixer" is tiresome. It's hyper as fuck and Brody deliver's the lyrics with rapid fire. "Open Sky" starts off with a mellowing intro and then goes into a harder punk track. I think the opening itself made it my favorite of the album so far, but the rest of the tune is just as solid. "Red Carpet & Rebellion" is another solid track. It's catchy and I'm surprised I've not heard this one before. "Colossus USA" starts strong and doesn't let up. I find my head banging a long to it and it's probably one of the most accessible songs on this debut monster. "Black Heart" is the same. It hits hard and doesn't let up. I like the lyrical delivery and Dalle's voice sounds like it could bleed at any second. "Gypsy Rose Lee" opens with some softly sung words and I like this side of things to mix it up, but it soon breaks into something a bit faster pace. This song almost makes you feel like you could hose Brody off and find a nice girl under the grit and filth. Well, maybe not. We are supposed to believe that the end of the album is one song away, but no way! Not on this one! We have a "hidden track" in "The Blackest Years" at the end, but before it's randomness we get a solid closer. While there is some difference in tone, the album is mainly a lot of the same. It's done well, but I'm hoping there is some expansion and evolution on the next albums. I know most "punk" has a similar song structure, but I'm hoping for something better than "most punk". Still, so far, not bad at all.
Album: Sing Sing Death House
Year: 2002
Duration: 28:43
"Sick of it All" is a very good track and kicks off the album nicely. Brody's vocals are just as gritty, but seem more restrained and cleaner. Not sure if that's a good thing yet, but we'll find out. I almost forgot to type anything for "I Am a Revenant". It kind of swooped me up and took me along with it. It's a harder pace punk rock song and is very easy to enjoy. Not even giving us a chance to breath, we jump into "Seneca Falls". It doesn't really add to anything or really raise any eyebrows, but it's at least listenable. "The Young Crazed Peeling" is catchy enough, but for some reason disconnected me with the album so far. It's an okay enough song, but the line "my name is Brody" irked me for some reason. The title track, "Sing Sing Death House" is a brutal start to end war. "Bullet and the Bullseye" is a catchy one and again pretty damn angry. We're told "I am the bullet and you're the bulls eye and when I hit there's nothing left". Who can argue with that? We right into "City of Angels", a single that sounds vaguely familiar. It's a little tame compared to the rest of the album and is much more accessible. In this case, I'm not sure if I can dig it. It just feels like a pre-planned single and could EASILY be confused for a Hole song. "Young Girl" starts off really mellow but then crashes into a slow riding rock groove. It feels just sorta "there" and doesn't do it for me. At this point, I'm nervous about the rest of the album. The 1:10 long "Hate Me" brings the hard edged punk back to the surface with as much intensity as anything else on the past two albums. "Desperate" does the same. At 1:22 it doesn't seem to provide much substance other than spastic rant-anger. It's hard, but still lacking. With just a little longer of a song at 1:44 we get "I Understand". Another fast as you can punk song that doesn't have the same "oomph". I am bored. The album closes with "Lordy Lordy". It's catchy and strong. Not a bad closer at all. You can easily hear the production values improve in comparison of the first two albums. It's a better album than the first. It's not as gritty or muddy sounding as the first and raises the bar. The songs are just better. There wasn't much evolving here, but it's still a stronger album. Instead of taking any risks with expanding their style, they just went back to the same well and came back more mature and stronger.
Album: Coral Fang
Year: 2003
Duration: 44:52
The third and final studio album of "The Distillers" kicks off with "Drain the Blood". This is the one song I can say I'm most familiar with. I wasn't too far out of high school when this one came out and that Brody ass shot towards the beginning of the video got my still-a-teenager libido's attention. That humbling confession aside, and the fact that Brody Dalle could probably kick my ass, the song is great. Easily my favorite song so far of all the albums. "Dismantle Me" almost has a grunge-punk sound to it. It's a bit more down tempo and way more mellow than other stuff. I like the approach because the lyrics are strong and you get a better chance to absorb them. "Die on a Rope" gives glimpses of the older hard punk stuff, but still has a refined feel to it. Sometimes when "punk" is too refined it comes off very generic sounding. Sadly, this almost borders on that "soundtrack from American Pie" line. "The Gallow Is God" has a funk vibe to it that makes the contrast of Dalle's vocals a trippy song. The title track "Coral Fang" is almost the shortest song on the album at 2:10, but is solid enough for me. It's hard not to head bang along with it. "The Hunger", a single, is one of the best tracks of the band's discography. It's a huge departure from the normal style and displays Dalle's true vocal talents in a very emotive opening. Then it goes full blast into a great rock track. "Hall of Mirrors" is another mid-tempo track. It's not horrible, but feels like filler. The single "Beat Your Heart Out" does sound vaguely familiar and I guess has been in a few video games that I've never played. Nothing too special. I really like "Love Is Paranoid". Dalle's lower vocals work nicely with the music to provide one of the best 2:07 songs I've ever heard today. "For Tonight You're Only Here to Know" starts off with a guitar riff and seemingly building drums. It doesn't really break when you think it will and before you know it you find yourself still waiting. It wasn't a bad song, but a bit "eh". "Death Sex" is a bit obnoxious for a closer. It's pretty much guitar feedback for over TWELVE MINUTES with a little bit of randomness thrown in. It was weird, then annoying, then aggravating, and finally funny. Again on this one you can hear the production quality evolve for the better. It's cleaner, crisper, and mixed down very tightly. Some would say this album is the result of selling out, but I think it's just maturity. The intensity is still pretty much there at times, but it's presented in a more accessible and more thought out manner. That might be "punk" enough for some people, but I'm not judging a genre but just good music. Coral Fang is my favorite of the three studio albums of The Distillers and I'd of been really curious to of heard where things would of went. Sadly, the band would not release another album and eventually break up to move on to other projects.
The Verdict
The Band: The Distillers
Years: 1998 -2006
A lot of the time, I felt like I could close my eyes and imagine "Tony Hawk" for PSone. And ironically I would come to find out that there IS music by The Distillers in a Tony Hawk game. It's just THAT kind of music, but if that's your thing then awesome. For me, it just felt a little repetitive at times and got boring no matter how much strain and passion Dalle expressed. Again, that could just be because I'm not a huge punk fan. Let's be fair, Brody's vocals DO remind one of Courtney Love's stuff. I don't mean it as a dis because it's pretty unfair because I've just heard more Love in my love. Brody has much more range, grit, and expression oozing out of her sighs than Love does at full scream. This isn't my normal cup of tea and I doubt I'll be listening to any of these albums from front to back again in the near future. There are still some tracks that might make my playlist collection and get proper play. It's not something I put my nose up to or anything and I can easily see the appeal and skill here. I wouldn't say The Distillers gained a fan from this experience, but they gained one set of ear's respect and informed opinion.
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