So why is Le Butcherettes’ A Raw Youth on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
For anyone new to Le Butcherettes, they are one of the very best bands that have a certain amount of notoriety and critical acclaim that I’m pretty sure close to zero percent of the people in my life have ever heard of.
But trust me, they’re incredible.
It also occurred to me that while Le Butcherettes certainly have a distinctive sound, each album has a unique vibe. In doing the research thing, it was interesting to note that the band’s lineup has changed quite a bit from album to album, with the consistent throughline being the band’s dynamic meets force of nature frontwoman, guitarist, and songwriter Teri Suarez a.k.a. Teri Gender Bender.
Le Butcherettes are a heavy band, but the thing is that they’re a heavy punk band with strong garage rock, pop, and then sprinkle in some experimental art rock leanings. The combination is unique, dynamite, explosive. And that’s not even getting into the lyrical themes that I won’t pretend to fully understand, but certainly fall under the umbrella of female empowerment.
What I do understand is that the guitar tone and riffs on “Shave the Pride” and other parts of A Raw Youth remind me much of L7 (another great heavy punk band comprised of women with, let us say, strong personalities and attitudes).
I found Le Butcherettes by way of their debut album from 2008, Kiss & Kill, and I am love with it to this day. “They F— You Over” is the song that for me rates with the best songs on that album. Which is to say, to quote Larry David, it’s pretty… pretty good.
“Reasons to Die Young” leans into the band’s pop sensibilities, and you can almost imagine this song being a disco anthem, instead of a punk anthem, with a few tweaks.
“The Hitch Hiker” lulls you with an almost B-52’s “Rock Lobster”-y organ, before hitting with a wild blast of strange and aggressive and effective punk rock.
Some stats & info about Le Butcherettes – A Raw Youth
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Punk Rock, Post-Punk Revival, Alternative Rock, Rock Music, Hard Rock, Garage Punk
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was A Raw Youth released? 2015
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #458 out of 1,000
Le Butcherettes’ A Raw Youth on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Le Butcherettes’ A Raw Youth that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Take a second, open your mind, take a step back, and stop this madness.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.