Hole Lotta Love

Hole is L.A., but not the L.A. of bass-slapping jerk rock where all roads eventually lead to Chili Peppers. The band opts instead for a post-Black Flag vibe. Sure, Hole wants to be huge. Its members are addicted to opulence, but as lead singer Courtney Love insists: "I'm never gonna make disco music to support my habit."

Hole's first album, Pretty On The Inside, revolves around a fascination with the repulsive aspects of L.A.- superficiality sexism, violence, and drugs. Love is the embodiment of what drives the band: the dichotomy of pretty.ugly. From far away, she looks like a glamorous Debbie Harry, yet close up, her features are a little skewed, burning with an unsettled intensity. One minute she's showing off her latest French skin products, the next she's regaling you with scary stories of her teenage years. The band tempers what she calls the "crazy girl" image with drummer Caroline Rue, hard and steady as a rock; bassist Jill Emery, a thoughtful jazzbo; and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson, about the nicest person you'll ever meet.

The pretty/ugly dynamic also comes across in Hole's music. A song like "Teenage Whore" at first comes across like a ranting noisy rage, but underneath is a surprisingly lush melody. Onstage, Love writhes and grinds and flirts with the audience like the go-go dancer she once was, but she's really just a tease. She gets you hot by panting into the mike, then rips you apart with a vulgar Axl howl.

Hole has a typically mixed attitude about being perceived as "chick rock". Its members aren't all girls, and Love hates a "whiny minority", but she does think that "chicks can rock in a new, different, and better way." If Hole isn't easy to digest or categorize like its other "punk" contemporaries, Love thinks it's because its "a Ramones-free band." But if Hole can convert the metal "idiots" in L.A., then it shouldn't be long before everyone jumps onto the Hole bandwagon.

Email: jacqui_missworld@hotmail.com