by Alana Janelle Mauger
Editor, Kismet Break
I have always been drawn to music by women who know how to rock—and there have been some amazing female rockers through modern music history (Janis Joplin, Linda Perry, Johnette Napolitano, Joan Jett, Courtney Love, Grace Slick, Lita Ford, etc.) and even some whose biting words are every bit as heavy as any rock guitar riff (Fiona Apple, Shirley Manson, Emily Haines). The music isn’t always pretty, but it’s made to empower, inspire, and strike fear in the hearts of those who dare issue a challenge.
My original plan for this post was to review “Lungs” by Florence + The Machine. When I first heard “Kiss with a Fist” a few months ago on Sirius, I got chills of anticipation—finally, a powerful female artist with major garage vibe. So, I settled in with my iPod prepared for an onslaught of wit and rock. Instead, what I heard was a well-composed calculated (read boring) album with a few bright spots. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a decent album—just not what I was prepared for. I briefly found myself lamenting the lack of actual, hard-core female rock in today’s music.
Scrolling restlessly through my iPod about three-fourths of the way through “Lungs, I stumbled across a forgotten gem buried in the rough: Juliette and the Licks. Despite the band’s break-up in 2009, the albums (You’re Speaking My Language,” 2005 and “Four on the Floor,” 2006) and EP (…Like a Bolt of Lightning,” 2004) released by actress Juliette Lewis and her then-band kick major rock butt despite moderate commercial success of the four released singles.
With the Licks, Lewis was a force to be reckoned with, screaming, swearing, and ranting against everything from men, to corporations, to porn. And while her latest solo effort “Terra Incognita” (2009)–with new backing band the New Romantiques—takes on a darker, more melodic sound, Lewis remains the pinnacle to which every female rocker should aspire.
