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Album Review: Violent Femmes - We Can Do Anything

Steve Bell
StarStarStarStar

"...the Femmes still possess a surplus of substance to augment their undeniable style."

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Milwaukee trio Violent Femmes long ago defined the template of their skittish folk-punk.

Their first album in 16 years plays to the band's strengths — Gordon Gano's faux-acerbic worldview delivered atop skiffle riffs, sinuous bass lines and brushed snares — to the point that opener Memory would slot straight onto their lauded 1983 eponymous debut. It's an assured batch, playful in places, with tracks like Issues, Holy Ghost, What You Really Mean and I'm Not Done reminding that the Femmes still possess a surplus of substance to augment their undeniable style.