Four LA ladies take the whole post riot grrrl/ post punk business up a notch with Going Modern. This record is about living in Los Angeles, and being young and in love with boys & girls, going to punk shows and living as art. The (now defunct) Sharp Ease put on high energy rock show's that included packing-tape costumes and gettin' down with the audience. This CD is limited and almost out of stock. Get it while you can!
"Blank Generation revisited! The Sharp Ease's Paloma Parfrey sings like a riot grrl Richard Hell, strangling and yowling while her band plays '80s punk and barks (tongue-in-cheek, maybe?) "oi" backups. But where Richard was all Please Kill Me, who-says-it's-good-to-be-alive on stage, Paloma and her girls have fun. They sing odes to life preservers, crush songs about a local coffeehouse worker, and shriek like fruit bats with no warning whatsoever. But it's never dumb, never too punk for its own good. It may not be all that tight, but they're always playing well, getting adventurous with the breakdowns, and riding the bridges like The Bangs. AND they bend strings in their solos, like, long drawn out AC/DC string benders--which most everybody's too cool for nowadays. Sharp Ease! Yes!" -Adam Gnade, The Seattle Stranger
"Going Modern is the complete antithesis to every synthetic, indie-inspired dance album to saturate the music world in 2005. The Sharp Ease have learned from danceable art-rockers like Gang of Four and The Yeah Yeah Yeah's that the first step to getting someone on the dance floor is getting their attention. A little raw energy doesn't hurt either."
-Mike Swidrak, indieworkshop.com
"The Sharp Ease start this album off by walking all over sharp, poppy guitars on the opener “Advantage", and end up stomping all over the song until it’s a delightful pile of noise. With a style that can be likened to the Raincoats, these four girls push and pull their way through 12 tracks that are guaranteed to be stuck in your head for days. Vocalist Paloma Parfrey has a voice that hisses and pops and shrieks with an amphetamine urgency, while members Christene Kings, Dana Barenfeld, and Sara Musser provide adorable shout-outs in the background. “From the Dodge” sounds like a it’s falling into a frenzy, with Parfrey breathing her words out frantically as Kings beats the shit out of her drum kit. This L.A. band keeps their effects to a minimum, choosing instead to let their music happen naturally through sheer energy. Going Modern has a sparkle and shine to it that leaves a big impression after only one listen." -Liz Worth, www.exclaim.ca
Band:
Paloma Parfrey - Vocals
Christene Kings - Drums
Dana Barenfeld - Bass
Sara Musser - Guitar
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