Note to all the musicians out there: Your band sucks. At least that’s what crossdressing San Francisco slop-punk group the Grannies think, and it’s hard not to humor them as long as they’re dishing out lyrics like these: “I can’t stand your attitude / The crap that you are playing / You take yourself so seriously / But you suck, again and again.” Hey, at least we’re not wearing wigs and dresses. If there’s any insight to be gained from this, it’s that the Grannies’ brand of trashy garage rock absolutely refuses to take itself seriously. A quick browse of some of the other song titles on the Grannies’ fifth record, Gumjob, confirms as much — “Everybody Craps,” “Jesus Was a Homo,” “Don’t Step on My Tits,” and the band’s credo “God Bless A Man In Dress” don’t exactly suggest violin arpeggios, time signature shifts, and countermelodies. More likely they call to mind the song titles of sometimes-humorous, sometimes-offensive hardcore group Anal Cunt. Produced by Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney), Gumjob is a raw, blistering punk-rock sore cultivated by grown men dressed proudly as flamboyant old women. Not bad.
