The Coathangers

Larceny & Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)

The Coathangers get critiqued in terms of gender because, as an all-girl band, they write songs about having a good time instead of toppling the patriarchy or being heartbroken. For its third album, Larceny & Old Lace (also the name of a Golden Girls episode), the Atlanta quartet doesn’t downplay anything in this evolution from the shaky barroom scream of 2009’s Scramble. “Johnny” and “Chicken: 30” both have the same dissonant abandon as Scramble‘s “Gettin’ Mad and Pumpin’ Iron,” but from righteous opener “Hurricane” through sentimental closer “Tabbacco Rd.,” the nasal vocal trade-offs have softened a bit, the subject matter and hooks grown more nuanced. It doesn’t flow as well as Scramble, but the Coathangers are masters of disguise, and Larceny‘s a straightforward punk album hiding darker feelings. They’re taking the rock & roll framework and smashing it in your living room. (Party with the Coathangers Sunday, July 17, at Mohawk.)

***

This article appears in July 8 • 2011.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US