Chris DeLine

When thinking of Women, think of Beat Happening–if only the band had a strong curiosity for non-confrontational drone and was conceived 13 hours northeast of Olympia, WA. Last year’s critically acclaimed debut album from the Calgary-based group was recorded by Sub Pop’s Chad VanGaalen in his home studio (aka basement cellar) using well-seasoned DIY technologies (aka ghettoblasters and an old tape machine). The techniques alone justify the similarities to their lo-fi patriarchs, but Women’s preoccupation with remote harmonies and chaotic guitar densely layers the band’s sound, warping it as the music unravels, and giving them something that is uniquely theirs. The band’s jagged experimentalism appears to be as natural as breathing, and certainly far less rigid than contemporaries such as Times New Viking. Joining Women will be local bands Bouncer Fighter and Whitesand/Badlands.

[This critics’ pick was originally published by City Pages.]