Review: Bikini Kill – Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Reissue
Boxx Magazine Review: Bikini Kill – Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Reissue
Tuesday 09th February 2016,
News
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- Stevie Nicks To Debut “24K Gold” Photo Exhibit
Bikini Kill – Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (Bikini Kill Records)
Carly Fisher April 17, 2014
Overall Score
3.5
In 2012, the skies parted and legendary Riot Grrrl band Bikini Kill decided to form a label under their name and reissue all their albums for fans that were too slow or premature get their shit together and buy the albums back in the day. The latest print is 1993 sophomore album Yeah Yeah Yeah, originally a split with Huggy Bear, sweetened with news of seven previously unreleased tracks. But is the promise of new tunes able to live up to the hype?
Let’s admit it: When considering the Bikini Kill catalog, Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah was never really the standout album compared against Pussywhipped and Reject All American. The songs on Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah always seemed more complete as a record when paired with the self-titled EP on The C.D. Version of the First Two Records (which is consequently being reissued April 29). That said, it’s still a solid album with distinctively aggressive tracks like “White Boy,” “This Is Not A Test” and “Don’t Need You.” Probably the weakest original track on Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah is Bikini Kill Riot Grrrl anthem “Rebel Girl,” which just doesn’t have the same raw vibrancy of the version featured on Pussy Whipped and The Singles
But once you hit “Outta Me,” it’s probably a good stopping point.
The real draw of the reissue is the seven previously unreleased tracks, which are definitely geared towards the super fan. A friend aptly summed-up the track, “George Bush Is A Pig” —which is 1:53 of screaming just those words over and over by saying, “I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s not doing it for me.” The track is followed with “I Busted In Your Chevy Window,” which is pretty much live spoken word and not a song. That leaves five poorly recorded songs, so rough that the lyrics are mostly undecipherable, which means it’s hard to gauge what exactly Hanna’s upset about on “Fuck Twin Peaks.” Then again, it was early ‘90s DIY, so no need to throw shade entirely about this.
These seven previously unreleased tracks are also set for the next reissue of The C.D. Version of the First Two Records, which seems to offer more bang for the buck since it will include all of this album plus tracks like “Double Dare Ya,” “Carnival,” and “Suck My Left One.” For the Bikini Kill diehard fans, the new tracks are a certainly a special treat, but not likely to have much heavy rotation when weighed against the hits. For the newly acquainted, however, this reissue is definitely an acquired taste. But much props to Bikini Kill for giving the fans what they want as it’s still incredibly amazing to have the comprehensive discography available again.