Secret Weapons
(Pet Peeve)
Ashleigh Daniel, guitarist/vocalist of local trio Secret Weapons, sings like the woman your mother warned you about. Her lyrics are alluringly clever, and her slurred delivery suggests a more-than-passing familiarity with the rock & roll lifestyle. The badass imprimaturs of female forebears like Joan Jett, Exene Cervenka, and Courtney Love weave their way in and out of Daniel’s savvy, beer-lit yarns of busted hearts and boozy nights. Her wit shines on “Hard Candy,” which compares fleeting love to a sugar rush that leaves you with a stomach ache. Daniel delights in excoriating feminine scene archetypes like the combative skank (“Bitch”) and the neurotic alpha girl that leaves everyone feeling used (“Strange Creature”). On the sunnier side, “Boy Like You” and “Bowl of Cherries” revel in unabashed longing, as in the latter’s exhortation to, “Get on the good foot and put your face right here.” Whether it’s on the Drag or not, everyone who’s ever called a bar their own can identify with “My Hole,” and any father would be touched by the sentimental “My Dad.” With former Bedbug bassist Chris Hillen and drummer Don Clark holding down the rhythm section, the Secret Weapons debut is a well-engineered declamation of bar rock with a brain.
This article appears in July 1 • 2005.
