They used to call it "trash rock." The kind of music the Gore Gore Girls practice so well, so named thanks to its lo-fi aesthetic and lyrical celebration of the low life has fallen by the wayside as of late. Such classic trash rock outfits as Supercharger, the Oblivians and any number of Japanese lo-fi psychos taking American punk rock to unheard-of levels of speed, volume, debauchery and enthusiasm have left the field wide open for new red-lined champs. And that’s where we find Detroit’s Gore Gore Girls – guitarist Amy Surdu, bassist Deanne Iovan and drummer Deb Agolli – basking in the collision of unbridled, just-refined-enough punk velocity and an appreciation for the pop rudiments that demand the listener hang their ear on the music’s edge just long enough to get a good hold. Surdu’s vocals are cracked, manic, her guitar chopped and channeled. Agolli and Iovan’s rhythm combo barely manages to rein "Mama in the Movies" away from anarchy. The B-side, "Hit You Hard" is a knockout version of a knockout tune by criminally underappreciated Boston pop-punk delinquents, the Real Kids. The triple Gs manage to walk the line between faith to the original and souped-up revision.
Trash rock? Perhaps. Throwaway? You’ve got to be kidding. Viva rock ’n’ roll!
This article appears in Sep 15-21, 1999.