Albums by this artist

Good Health (2002)

Pretty Girls Make Graves

Good Health

---

» GRANT PURDUM | STAFF WRITER

Pretty Girls Make Graves Good Health Lookout!, 2002 RiYL: Sleater-Kinney, At The Drive-In, X

Formed from the shrapnel of defunct Seattle bands too numerous to fully detail, Pretty Girls Make Graves -- as they enthusiastically communicate on the track "Speakers Push The Air" -- are a group in search of that "one definitive moment." Thusly, PGMG's full-length debut, Good Health, is a Kodak collection of alt-punk genius in which no theme is safe or prevalent.

Andrea Zollo sings lead, and her engrossing voice charts all sorts of waters: the sassy mannerisms of the Red Aunts; the verve of Tilt; the punk-nik vivacity of Kathleen Hanna. Assorted background yells and drawls layer Zollo's lamentations smoothly, and Nick Dewitt applies a full-on drum facial, stubbornly bending the constraints of meter and aggressively utilizing his high-hats.

Guitar reigns unflinching as the focal point. Stringsters J Clark and Nathan Thelen meet you At The Drive-In, then shove eerie versions of riffs from Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" and Megadeth's "Hangar 18" down your throat, dueling with dynamic twin-intensity throughout the entire album. The bubbling chemistry between the tandem and bassist Derek Fudesco careens way over the top, but the teamed musicians meet each other (and the listener) at the other end seamlessly.

Clocking in at a whopping 27 minutes, Good Health is nonetheless a rich, full record interspersed with some of the edgiest, most relentlessly euphoric material this side of Tora! Tora! Torrance! Get it.

GRANT PURDUM | Among the newest wave of NATN contributors, Grant Purdum bides his time at Washington State University.