★★★½
When you’re fronted by a woman named Teri Gender Bender and spend your early gigs covered in fake blood, you’re never going to find any kind of mainstream acceptance.
Then again, that was never Le Butcherettes’ goal – Bender has shifted from lineup to lineup, each time creating something challenging, unwieldy and unashamedly arty.
A Raw Youth, the outfit’s third LP overall, arrives almost 18 months after its predecessor Cry Is For The Flies, and the apparent urgency in its release translates into the more intense, exhilarating moments on offer. It can often, admittedly, be quite difficult for a band best noted for its live show to capture the lightning in a bottle for a studio release.
Bender and co., however, get as close as they’ve ever come here – tracks like ‘Stab My Back’ and the lavishly titled ‘Oil The Shoe If The Critter Knew Any Better’ jitter and jolt in grand fashion. Elsewhere, the immortal Iggy Pop turns up to croon and croak over ‘La Uva’, showcasing a versatility and a constant endeavour to seek out new sounds.
Le Butcherettes strive to be weird and wonderful, and A Raw Youth sees them display both in spades.
Le Butcherettes’A Raw Youthis out now thorough Ipecac.
