Put Out or Get Out

Although not absolutely unique, Fabulous Disaster is one of the few all-girl bands around that grasps the concept that just showing up is not enough. Knowing how to play your instrument, being able to carry a tune, and having at least a modicum of songwriting talent is expected of the boys, so why should the girls be held to a lesser standard? So what you don't get on Put Out or Get Out is a bunch of shrieking banshees howling the lyrics over a tuneless thrash. No little-girl aren't-we-cute disingenuous naivete either, and no whining that the world sucks, and guys suck the most. The Fabs are beyond such pathetic, made-for-Lilith Fair, color-pink-by-numbers artifice. Veterans of a number of San Francisco punk bands, the members have paid their dues, and deliver up straight-ahead melodic punk rock, performed with plenty of panache and passion. The lyrics center on relationships and emotions and, with minimal words, encapsulate a moment and mood and bring it jumping to life. And while there's nothing so unusual about these lyrical situations, the Fabs give them such a sense of urgency and a loud ring of truth that one can't help but be captivated. String them around a fevered beat, taut melody, and harmony-laced choruses, and you'll too agree that Fabulous Disaster is absolutely fabulous.