Julie Ruin- by Fawn Kazati
So they say diamonds are a girl's best friend? No way! A girl's best friend is her 8-track, a broken sampler, and a $40 drum machine. Just ask Julie Ruin (a.k.a. former Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hannah), who couldn't have crafted one of the year's most unique albums without them. Julie Ruin's self-titled LP runs the gamut from punk numbers -- punk numbers your granny would like, that is, like "Crochet," ("You make me wanna go away, You make me wanna go away, You make me wanna go away, You make me wanna crochet") to the superb grrrrrl-dub "I Want to Know What Love Is," to the Go-Go's inspired "V.G.I." In a recent interview with SUSAN JUNIOR fanzine, Ruin spelled it out, "I want to see what happens when I put certain sounds together ... when I use language as sound as opposed to communication purposes ... I wanted to sound like a girl who can't play any musical instruments tweaking out an AM radio." So while some songs like the super-catchy "The Punk Singer" have a very accesible feel, others like "On Language" are almost purposely complex. A clacking typewriter keeps ryhthm with Ruin's distorted voice, kinda like ... well, like language -- but a language that isn't meant for you, one that's purposely exclusionary. (A message about women, semiotics, and male power, or just a groovy typewriter song ... who's to say?) Then of course, let's not forget Julie Ruin's voice. If her drum machine is the glue, her vocals are the glitter. On "My Morning is Summer" she manages to sound fragile and haunting simultaneously, and then comes back to blow you away with the Richard Simmons-on-speed stridency of "Aerobicide." The harmonies on "Stay Monkey" will give you shivers. Maybe in the end Julie Ruin is all about empowerment; you don't need a record contract, expensive gear, or even a lot of musical ability to make an album. All you need is the might and imagination of your message, and the desire for others to hear it. As Julie Ruin would say, "It's about not having and really wanting." -- Fawn Kazati
Reject All American- by hef
Reject All American is bk's 3rd cd and my personal favorite..it's more grryly than there earlier stuff and kathi does back up vocals alot on this one..its like a mixture of happy grrl singing and screaming i luv it..R.I.P is a very personal song about the death of a friend and its really pretty..the band explores different sounds with this album its very unique..it strikes me as happier and more vibrant than there other stuff i think thats what i like about it.
this is an article i cut out from spin, bk got number 54 for the 90 best albums of the 90's