The Winks
Too Hot to Be This Cool (Super Secret)
Imagine Tura Satana from Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! starting a punk band after too many tallboys and you’ll understand the eternal bad girl camp at the heart of this local endeavor. The women of the Winks cultivate a saucy, swaggering dynamic that keeps their otherwise straightforward approach to punk rock ticking. There’s no wheel reinvention here, just a 20-minute nonstop burst of come-ons and put-downs. Penny Tration’s guitar is surly and industrial, while Amanda Hugnkiss’ artfully disaffected vox lie somewhere between sneer and pout, lending credence to the Winks’ violently lascivious subject matter. You might call it “do me, asshole” feminism. “He’s a Gun” kicks off with twin barrels of double-entendre declarations like, “He’ll shoot it in my face all of the time,” while “Fuck Me Around” celebrates one-night stands by adopting the horndog mentality of humping dumpers just out for a fling. “Never Gonna Die” vividly illustrates how one wrong move might send you from the bedroom to the embalming room before minutelong rock celebrations “Turn It Up” and “Saturday Night” reveal the band’s less lurid side. There’s even QuickTime footage of a live in-studio show for your viewing pleasure. Russ Meyer would’ve been proud.
This article appears in April 8 • 2005.
