Thee Headcoatees
revel in the darker side of their nature on 1994's
Ballad of an Insolent Pup
, which digs deeper into the gals' angst than on most of their albums. Like their mentor
Billy Childish
(who wrote most of the songs on this set),
thee Headcoatees
worship at the altar of
garage rock
, playing Brit-style
beat music
with a purposefully crude edge, but while they usually sound like they're out for fun,
uses their ragged '60s-style approach to share their darker moods with us. Most of the tunes here involve men who have done
Debbie
,
Holly
Kyra
, and/or
Ludella
wrong in one way or another, and they're not at all shy in telling us about their anger, resentment and disappointment toward their former lovers.
"I Was Led to Believe,"
"When You Stop Loving Me,"
and
"All My Feelings Denied"
are pure
rock & roll
expressions of the old adage that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. However, while there's more than a little bad feeling vented on
, it's also a great slice of U.K.
garage punk
, sounding a bit tighter and better focused than most of
' discs, and the tunes pack a wallop that keeps the bitterness from overtaking the energy of the performances. After listening to
, it's clear you wouldn't want to cross
, but inviting them to your next party would be a capital idea. ~ Mark Deming