Dismissed With a Kiss
Described as music with “attitude and ovaries,” Dismissed With a Kiss is the first album from New York-based Spanking Charlene. This record features rock and roll with a lot of feminist reflection, as frontwoman Charlene McPherson sings about misogyny, how women treat one another and how perfect life will be “When I'm Skinny.” This album has a lot of potential, but it's lacking punch, despite the garage-band guitar riffs and provocative lyrics. The recording is lo-fi and sounds rough, which is perfect, but the mix doesn't feel quite loud enough. Somehow, it just sounds a bit too subdued for what the band is trying to get at. Still, there are a lot of enjoyable parts in this album; my two favorite tracks were “Fidgety” and “Field Trip.” Spanking Charlene is good old fashioned angry girl music – that could just benefit from being a little bit angrier.