Rancid, Let the Dominoes Fall (Epitaph)
Spinnerette, Spinnerette (Anthem)
It was six years ago that the romance between Rancid ringleader Tim Armstrong and The Distillers dominatrix Brody Dalle publicly fell to pieces. As one of the few notable pairs in punk, their union appeared to be stem out of mutual attachment to disheveled sonic stylings, as if rusty guitar tones and iconoclastic shouts could make love work. When Dalle let down her mohawk, left Armstrong for Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, and gradually tugged the plug on her project, it felt like some failing of the genre as a whole. Now, after Rancid’s changed drummers and labels and Dalle’s back with the dance floor kinetics of Spinnerette, co-analyzing their releases since ’03 makes for an interesting angle on their evolutions—or lack thereof.
While Rancid’s effort applies their well-worn forte to decent results, Spinnerette’s first LP provides a glimpse of a rich new front. Dalle’s project proves that she benefited from a clean break. Apologies, Tim.
