02072014 - Brody Dalle "Diploid Love"

Ah, my old punk rock crush Brody! Cooler than Courtney, and punkier too! The Distillers were genius when I first heard them, and kept the genius up until they kinda lost the plot. Spinnerette I never really got into. My bad? Anyway, Brody's back, and she's packing a punch! The punk remains mostly in the past, but there are some songs on "Diploid Love" that makes me not miss those rowdy days of yore! "Rat Race" opens the ball with balls, "Underworld" showcases Ms. Dalle as a proper Queen of the Stone Age and "Dressed In Dreams" is just a brilliant rock song. Her voice never softened, so there's plenty of grit for us fans of that grit rock, but there's also room for (dare I say it?) sophistication! Not all songs are instant classics, and it's obvious that she wants to experiment a bit more than she probably should have - case in point, "I Don't Need Your Love", where Brody gets broody and, uh, tries out stuff. She finishes on a high note though, and as long as we all can get used to the fact that The Distillers is a thing of the past, this is a step in the right direction, and great things should lie ahead!