Some debut albums are loaded with such an iconic status that it can almost be a burden to carry later on in their career. Milwaukee trio Violent Femmes have, for better or worse, lived with the legacy of their eponymous first album for over 30 years. Violent Femmes (1983) is a musical milestones of the 1980s – a key effort in the birth of the alternative rock, and an album they’re still measured against.
Frontman and main songwriter Gordon Gano wrote the majority of the debut while still in high school, composed of tunes that personify being an outsider, giving a voice to all hormonal, insecure and frustrated kids out there. Violent Femmes were Cameron Frye to Ferris Bueller, Revenge of the Nerds, and teenage angst a decade before Kurt Cobain. Indie hits like "Kiss Off," "Add it Up" and the evergreen "Blister in the Sun" are anthems for the misfits and hopelessly infatuated, effectively paved with minimalist, acoustic folk punk in the wake of artists like Talking Heads, The Feelies and Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers.
Their entire debut is so immediately riveting and youthfully glowing that Violent Femmes could never surpass it, but during their career they have grown up remarkably well. Religious ponderings and more subtle sarcasm eventually replaced much of their initial nativism and sexual frustration. The sequel, Hallowed Ground (1984), retained much of the same musical context, but put Gordon Gano in the role of a fire and brimstone preacher dealing with his relations with faith and doubt. Produced by Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison,The Blind Leading The Naked (1986) rounded out the first part of their career, on an album where Violent Femmes, with varied success, headed towards a larger and more mainstream sound.
After a three year break, filled with various solo projects, Violent Femmes returned in 1989 and released their fourth album, 3. It marks a return to the debut’s minimalistic approach, but the text and tone moves into a darker terrain. Whereas Gordon Gano used to sing, "I look at your pants and I need a kiss," begging to get laid, he's since become more adult and cynical, deadpanning "Our dating days, It was fun but now it's done." 3 also contains some of the band's most hauntingly beautiful songs, such as "Nothing Worth Living For" and "See My Ships". Subsequent Why Do Birds Sing? is widely recognized for its standout opening track, "American Music," and its version of Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," but it's an overall a great effort, and an underrated album in their underrated catalogue; joyous, fun and catchy, while maintaining their eccentric character.
Violent Femmes moved into new territory with New Times (1994), the first without original drummer Victor DeLorenzo, with an urge to experiment with different styles and complexity. Six years later they revisited their acoustic folk-punk roots with Freak Magnet (2000). After 16 long years, Violent Femmes, with original members Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie, is finally back again with a new album in 2016.