★★★★★
The second record from the Violent Femmes was a departure from their highly acclaimed debut album. Hallowed Ground features more of their folk/punk hybrid that made them so unique from the start but with even more maniacal energy than they had previously displayed. Lead singer and songwriter Gordon Gano explores his love/hate relationship with religion with the same glee he did exploring the teenage/young adult drama of their debut...
- www.forcedexposure.com
2013-11-27
★★★★★
Well, somebody finally came to their senses and re-released the Violent Femmes landmark, self-titled 1982 debut. It contains, arguably, all of their hits, from Blister In the Sun to Add It Up to Gone Daddy Gone. It sounds relevant in its remastered form and has aged incredibly well, to the point where I think one could reasonably say it is, in fact, as close to ageless as ageless gets...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-09
★★★★★
When The Violent Femmes went to Iceland in 2003, they hooked up with a three-man horn section and barely rehearsed before playing their first show ever in the world's most aptly named country. The result, on the first song at least, is a 15-minute mind hazing that alternates main-man Gordon Gano's simple vocal delivery with Coltrane-esque squeals and out-of-this-world jazz improvisation...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-09
★★★★★
The Violent Femmes never exceeded the adrenaline-jittery, hyper-hormonal stripped acoustic-punk (that was more avant-jug band than anything remotely leather and safety pins) of their self-titled debut Violent Femmes, which is plainly obvious from this nine-album, career-spanning "very best of." The largest, by far, of these 16 songs are still Blister in the Sun, Gone Daddy Gone, Kiss Off and Add It Up - all from that startling first album...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-09
★★★★★
A walk down memory lane with Violent Femmes is more like a roll across barbed wire. Oh, here's the one about date rape! And here's the one where the backwoods Jesus freak throws his daughter in a well and hangs himself! Gordon Gano's psycho-geek quaver and the trio's ability to unleash fury from acoustic instruments were touchstones of postpunk, but this single-disc retrospective, spanning 1983 to 2000, does their legacy no favors...
- www.blender.com
2010-08-22
★★★★★
Sound: Let me just say that The Violent Femmes are a great band. Now as I say this, some may disagree. With that, I must insist that anyone who disagrees with me listen more closely to them. Their sound is not one that can be easily compared. All I can say is that it's definately different. There's not really a lot of electronics involved instrument-wise. Basically acoustic bass, snare drums, and (of course) the infamous tranceaphone...
- www.ultimate-guitar.com
2009-11-15
★★★★★
Sound: The Femmes don't sound like other bands. They rely on loopy flowing basslines of Brain Ritchie and Gordan Gano's whiny shriek, all accompanied by minimalist guitar work, and a drummer who doesn't even use a bass drum. This record has flkish type music, reggae, and some Ramones style punk. // 10 Lyrics and Singing: I know all of the words from the beginning of this record to the end. Gano has a talent for writing lyrics that are instantly identifiable with. He is the voice of teen angst...
- www.ultimate-guitar.com
2009-11-15
★★★★★
No deep thinker and probably a jerk, Gordon Gano is the good-looking cad in a collegiate picaresque, putting himself across on feckless charm and endless libido. Most will grant the Femmes' 1983 debut its cult status and leave it at that, but the 19 titles otherwise unaccounted for on this typically irresponsible compilation suggest that they stayed young through the '80s...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-17
★★★★★
If Jonathan Richman thought he was as sexy as Richard Hell, he'd come on like Gordon Gano. And if you believe Jonathan Richman damn well is as sexy as Richard Hell, which Gano is counting on, remember that what makes Jonathan's kiddie act so (shall we say) appealing is that he counts on nothing except his fingers and toes. Gano knows his stuff--the barely electric music is striking enough for rock and roll...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-17
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