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[STONER ROCK] Everything you need to know about Black Pussy's debut record can be summed up in the album's first 10 seconds. The disc opens with the sound of a lighter flicking to life followed by the hearty bubbling of a bong hit.
A little on the nose,
perhaps, but when you are sacrificing your brain cells to the altar of
stoner rock, subtlety is often an innocent bystander. I mean, did you
see the band's name? OK, so the Portland group has the sex and drugs
covered. How does it do on the rock 'n' roll front? For the most part,
it (ahem) scores handily. With only six songs to work with, BP—part of
an instrument-swapping triumvirate of bands that includes White
Orange—cut right to the chase. Guitarists Ryan McIntire and Peter
Meissner hold tightly to their arsenal of diamond-hard riffs, with the
occasional excursion into wah-wah heavy leads. And without the steady
groove in the band's collective hips, the drumming would qualify as
Cro-Magnon. Leave it then to co-vocalists Dustin Hill and Madeline
Mahrie to let their dual singing parts rub up against each other
lasciviously, making even the most turgid of lyrics (the nostalgic
"Indiana" relies a bit too heavily on clichéd phrases like "put the
pedal to the metal") seem downright filthy.
SEE IT: Black Pussy plays the Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash St., on Saturday, Feb. 11. 8 pm. $5. 21+.
WWeek 2015