The Distillers - Sing Sing Death House (Cover Artwork)

The Distillers

Sing Sing Death House (2002)

Hellcat

K.

I always knew that Brody had it in her. The first album blew me away, but how could this machine, we call The Distillers, manage to pull out another amazing album? In todays "so called" punk rock scene, we have been smothered with corporate rich kid rock... I won't name any names, but you catch my drift. After hearing this album, I now know that I can remove the gun from my mouth and listen to Sing Sing Death House and bang my head on the ground until I'm a gushing red mess.

The first track "Sick Of It All" is a fast chaotic tune that mixes old Distillers with a newfound melodic rhythm that came with Ryan and Andy (the Distillers all new rhythm section) joining the band. Our crusty punk friend Rose aka.'Casper',aka.'guitarist' has seemed to come out of her shell and you can hear a lot more of her backing vocals/ growls/ and shrieks that she so 'matter-of-factly', does.

Frankly though, I'm sick of all the comparisons of Brody to her husband Tim from Rancid. If they weren't connected in any way, the next comparison would be to any female vocalist with a similar aggression and grit.

Why compare? Its fuckin punk rock. and its fuckin good.

Songs like "I Am A Revenant", "Sing Sing Death House" and "Bullet and The Bullseye" make you want to kick someone in the teeth, while a track like "City Of Angels" or "The Young Crazed and Peeling" reveal the Distillers "sensitive" side that we saw with "Gypsy Rose Lee", on their first record.

Speaking of the first record: if you happened to discover the hidden track after "The Blackest Years", which featured Brody and her axe, singing "We were young girls in a small world...", you will be happy to hear that its now a complete song with all the balls that makes the Distillers a well rounded punk rock band... if theres such a thing.

If I was a crack head and the Distillers were my dealers... Sing Sing Death House would be my fix.