Boston Phoenix - June 1996

Pansy Division aside, how many bands would proudly sum themselves up as "a rock band that sings about boys?" That
would be Juicy, whose second album, Olive Juicy (say that to someone you like if you don't get the pun), was released on
Slow River last week. They're a cuddly outfit who quote an entire Dorothy Parker poem in their press kit, credit themselves
by first name only (Kendall on guitar, Jenn on bass, Meggan on drums), and proudly admit they couldn't play their
instruments before putting the band together.

That much was evident on their first album, For the Ladies (also Slow River), but they take a few steps forward on the new
one. For one thing, Kendall points out that she's learned to play barre chords; for another, their sound has taken on a likable,
low-key quality that recalls Tsumani's early days. Except that Tsunami never trashed their hip credentials by covering a Don
Henley song ("Boys of Summer") with no apparent irony -- any song with "boys" in the title is, apparently, welcome.

"If that makes us a girlie band, I don't necessarily think it's a dis," says Kendall by phone from New York. "I wanted to be a
writer before I started playing music. You write about what you know about, so my songs are always about failed relationships.
Something like `Sometimes I Smoke' is about smoking and drinking because you think you're having fun meeting someone,
but in the end it's just another depressed guy you're attracted to. That's what I learn now that I'm out of college, the kind of
mistakes I make in relationships; and that's what I want to write songs about. Our next album isn't going to be like the Cranberries
writing about Bosnia."

It should be noted that Kendall and Jenn (who in real life is former Phoenix graphic designer Jennifer Levin) were as popular
as anyone when they lived in Boston; they edited the music fanzine Buzz, and their first gig, played on Kendall's apartment roof in
Allston, drew friends from Helium, the Flying Nuns, and other happening bands. After that they landed a track on the Warners
compilation The Indie Rock Guide to Dating, and Kendall points out that the band are no longer just a goof. "We know we've only
been playing for a couple of years, but my attitude to this has totally changed; I find it incredibly fulfilling to play an instrument
now. We're still the same dorky girls we always were, but now we get better gigs."

Has their lack of boyfriends been remedied by playing in a band? "Not yet," sighs Kendall. "But Jenn is pretty much the heartthrob
in the band. It's only lately that we've had boys at the shows that we recognize from other shows. But as far male groupies, it just
doesn't happen."

- Brett Milano