Just What I Need

Two decades before the Donnas were doing their best to be the "chick Ramones," we had Nikki and the Corvettes, who, besides cranking out some wonderfully catchy pop tunes, had a front woman who was surely many a punk boy's wetdream. Bomp has reissued on CD the band's sole album -- think of a sexed-up punked-up Shangri-Las, fueled by Chuck Berry guitar riffs -- along with their two singles. You get 16 foot-tappin', head-boppin' songs about boys, "Backsteat Love," and dancing that I think would require a supreme effort to NOT enjoy. Bubblegum punk that tastes as good as it looks. (Soundviews)

Nikki & The Corvettes - S/T

Almost as well-known for its cover (the three Slits are half-naked and covered in mud) as for its music, Cut is an ebullient piece of post-punk mastery that finds the Slits' interest in Caribbean and African rhythms smoothly incorporated into their harsher punk rock stylings. Ari Up's wandering voice (a touch like Yoko Ono) might be initially off-putting, but not so much so that it makes listening to the record difficult. Six tracks are revamped from earlier Peel Sessions and sound better for the extra effort (especially "New Town" and "Love and Romance"). With its goofy charm, gleeful swing and sway, and subtle yet compelling libertarian feminism, this is one of the best records of the era.-(AMG)

The Slits - Cut

Mo Dettes' founder Kate Korus was a one-time member of The Raincoats and The Slits, so it makes sense that the Mo Dettes' sound falls in between those two groups. Korus' Swiss-accented vocals establish a (tenuous) connection with Kleenex, the remaining third of the era's all-female post-punk trinity. The Mo Dettes' angular post-punk doesn't teeter on the verge of chaos like the early Raincoats, though; it is tempered with a melodic flair that anticipates the C-86 style of bands such as Carg Carroll's Miaow, while not indulging the Slits reggae fusion, though the spirit of dub might have informed Jane Crockford's nimble bass playing and June Miles-Kingston 's busy drumming style. The Story So Far, the group's only album, contains a remake of their debut single, "White Mouse," retitled "White Mouse Disco"; covers of the Rolling Stones ("Paint It Black") and Edith Piaf ("Milord"), and mildly divergent cuts such as the jazzy "Kray Twins." Echoes of the Mo Dettes and their post-punk sisters can be heard in new groups such as the Vivian Girls and Liechtenstein. (AMG)

The Mo-Dettes - The Story So Far


1. The Lepers - Flipout
2. Sick Things - Antisocial Disease
3. Ici Paris - Le Centre de Monde
4. Usch - Ito
5. Rough Cut - Danger Boy
6. The Stripes - Week end Love
7. The Questions - Take a Ride
8. Electric Dead - 30 Years
9. Glueams - 365
10. Mary Monday - I Gave My Punk Jacket
11. The Doll - Trash
12. SIB - No One Rules
13. Joy Rider and Avis Davis - Nasty Secretary
14. Anouschka Et Les Prives - Control
15. Tyranna - Back Off Baby
16. Sado-Nation - Mom and Pop Democracy
17. The Reactors - World War 4
18. Sheena & The Rokkets - Omae Ga Oshi

My Girlfriend Was A Punk