Violent Femmes

If someone had a gun to my head before I looked this album up and asked me when it was released, I would have said sometime in the 90s and would be dead right now.

Before I heard this album, I would have never thought that acoustic punk was possible, but here we are, and really catchy hooky punk at that. Another plus: I can't think of another recording that better captures the sweaty, desperately uncool, paranoid, lust-ridden, powerless feeling of being a teenager, all the while making you laugh like hell. To top it off, frontman Gordon Gano and company manage to close off the album with a genuinely moving ballad, Good Feeling. There isn't a weak track on here. If I was forced to pick a favorite, I'd probably go with the big hit, Blister In The Sun, but Prove My Love and Promise are killer tracks as well. It may not be terribly ambitious, but on its own terms, this album is close to perfection.

Absolutely fantastic. Gordon Gano, in his creepy Lou Reed meets Ted Bundy way, Delivers a delightfuly uncomfortable experience. I nearly had an out of body experience during the xylophone solo in Gone Daddy Gone.

Know the work rules. Radiohead singing about being lonely: Aww, you’re sweet. Violent Femmes singing about being lonely: Hello, Human Resources?!

I know this album inside  out and and just about every lyric. I’m still at Lake Simcoe with the young ones so planed ahead to sneak in a quick listen.  I decided to sing along and change some of the words. It worked. Example:  “Why can’t I get just one DUCK - must have something to do with luck. . . “ When one of the boys did a double take and gave me a look,  I explained it was a hunting song and the singer is the only guy who had yet to shoot any dinner.  Did he buy it? Hah -  He folded like a cheap suit. When people want to be negative about an album or band they often say "they play only three chords." This is often said figuratively rather than literally. If you wanted to throw this dagger at the femmes, you could make it literal if you said you could play the first three songs with only four chords: G, C, D and Em. If you throw in Bm, A and E you can also play Add it up and Prove my Love and probably some others. But I don't want to insult them. This deranged mess of Gordon Gano in his yoot is one of my favourite albums ever and is made better by all of its blemishes (including one on his forehead  on the back cover if I recall correctly). I often wonder if you have to be deranged to write such deranged music or can you simply act the part?  I'm guessing you have to be fucked up to write this shit. If you are of this view, then a scary thought is  that this was not their most deranged album. The Derangeometer on their second album easily surpasses this one.  And if may digress, neither holds a candle to Nick Cave's Murder Ballads which is possibly  the most deranged album ever. Anyway, I understand why many will rate this a 1. I really do. 

5 stars. Automatic 5 stars. Steve Belcher loaned me this tape at 7th grade camp. I was mostly listening to GNR, Metallica, Poison, etc. at the time. This was a real mindblower for me - acoustic but sounded dirtier and dangerouser than anything else I was listening to. Love it.

The sad thing is someone let this production occur. The vocals sound off key and lack volume and depth. The instruments seem to be done by 2nd graders who decided to pick up their parents instruments and started jamming. I keep imaging a real singer:Pink or Weekend singing these songs and amazing musicians playing the music. It would have a chance to give quality to this album. I do love the Album cover. In fact it looks like they did attempt to photograph one of the 2nd graders suggested to play an instrument. Unfortunately she is too embarrassed to look straight at the camera. Who can blame her.

I’m always in awe of how ahead of its time this album is. It was released in 1983 and it sounds like everything that was happening in 1993! It’s so beautifully rebellious, hitting the airwaves at the height of the 80s neon soaked synth pop excesses. This album is boldly, defiantly alternative and raw. It’s a stunning achievement in going against the grain and I love every note if it.

I tried. I skipped almost every song. Sounded like Tim Heidecker impersonating both Bob Dylan and Mick Jaggar at the same time. Was not impressed.

Here's an unequivocal and absolutely unique masterpiece. Raw and immediate, with unsophisticated recording style and (almost) no embellishment, this is probably the best expression of teenage frustration and anxiety ever recorded. It feels _so_ real. The bare arrangements mean that the songs seem completely unfiltered. This album is so honest that it feels like a secret every time you listen to it; I can't believe they are saying what they are saying! And yet, this obviously hit a nerve with many, many people; sales estimates to date are around 3 million copies sold (and, one has to think, a handful of furtively taped copies for each disc sold). Nearly everyone of my generation (at least in the more alternative circles I moved in) can sing Add it Up, Blister on the Sun, or Gone Daddy Gone from memory at the drop of a hat. The basic recording means this never sounds old, and, interestingly, my 16 year old son has this album on his want list, so it clearly still speaks to young people. When I was at uni in 1990, my friend Kate and I skipped lectures one afternoon to go see the Femmes busking at Circular Quay (filmed for the Noise on SBS). That sunny afternoon, singing along to the band, is one of my favourite live music memories. You see snippets of that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2J6d0EVEJE

Growing up in the 80s, discovering the Violent Femmes was like discovering drugs. It was a gateway to alternative music, a door that could never be closed again. A life of swapping cassette tape recordings of low bandwidth college radio stations, collecting bands like the Crucifux and the Dead Kennedys, all-age punk rock shows in the closest city smoking clove cigarettes and feeling alive and different. Good stuff.

Listened to this album quite a bit in college, hadn't really listened since, and honestly prepared my middle-aged self to be annoyed by it after all this time, as can happen. Didn't happen. Still a fun (and sometimes funny) album. I think what saves it for me is they are really good musicians and still come across as original-sounding to me. Oftentimes, I lose interest fast in bands that go for irony or some other form of humor, even when I like it first time I hear it. Maybe it's like improv humor for me in that when it works in the moment, it's great for a laugh, but I don't want to go back to that moment. Anyway, whatever the thought-and-feeling-process might be, this is an album this fiftysomething square dude can still enjoy.

Awesome raw energy. The sparse arrangements, exude energy and funk, and have a great deranged vocal flair. It is pretty impressive that also the unusual arrangement due survive their era and still sound entirely relevant today.

singular artifact of alternative music. fav track: good feeling

I hope you know this will go down on your permanent record... Predating the slacker movement, this album laid ground for the fuck-you complacency that kicked into high gear 10 years later. I don't think there's an album like this that's ever followed. Monumental, important and oh-sooo good... --- A personal cringy note here. When I was 12, I'd often belt out the lyrics while listening to this on my knockoff Walkman screaming "... there's nothing I can say when I'm in your thighs..." I'm pretty sure my parents loved this album too.

Holy shit I forgot how much I enjoyed this album.

One of all time best albums. A perfect mix of punk, rock and lofi. This album had a recording cost close to 0. Its their debut, and its basically just three guys looking for a cheap studio they could afford to use. They found a tiny one, went in there and recorded some songs. And here's the result. The definition of true LoFi.

TRUE 4.5 - Was much more into this album than I expected to be with only knowing "Blister in the Sun." Very cool to learn this was released in 1983. I also figured this was a early/mid 90s alternative record that was drawing on those contemporary influences but it clearly seemed more influenced by the first wave of punk and I very much fuck with that. The songwriting had a bite and wittiness that stayed sharp throughout the record, and actually made me laugh a few times. Overall really enjoyed this one and definitely will come back for another listen.

YOU CANNOT FUCK WITH THIS BAND! This album has no bad songs. A masterpiece with no wasted space. Even if you include the two bonus tracks every song is amazing. Although Good Feeling is one of the best closers of all time, so the bonus tracks throw off the flow of the original. Gordon Gano’s songwriting and vocals are so full of teen angst mixed with his unique sense of humor. There are some laugh out loud funny moments on this album in the best way, “hey dad, speaking of driving…” on the bonus track being my personal favorite, what a hilarious payoff! Then there’s Brian Ritchie’s incredible acoustic bass playing, this guy is incredible. And let’s not forget Victor DeLorenzo stirring the soup on his weird trash can drum. Somehow these three came together and made one of the best punk albums of all time, and invented folk punk to boot! An all time great album that definitely deserves to be on this list.

An all-time favorite. As I was pondering this album, though, I had a thought. I found myself wondering if adults hearing this for the first time would really find love for it. Sure, the songs may be pleasant, even fun, but does it speak to you? Part of me thinks you may have to be a teenager discovering this album to truly love it. I don't know. Maybe not. Shrug.

One of the best albums ever recorded. No matter how much time passes this album still sounds fresh. The Violent Femmes have been able to tap in to a sound that is all there own. Unique, and universal in the same breath. A wonderful mix of wit, sarcasm, double entendre, and biting social commentary. An album that is able to reach platinum without hitting the billboard 200 is an astonishing feat.

The best album by my favourite band. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. I remember exactly where I was when I heard this album for the first time, at a party at my friend's house. It absolutely blew me away. It changed me. I borrowed the record that night. That was 41 years ago. I should probably give it back.

Nothing takes you back in time like music. I recall sitting in a down stairs hall at my high school listening to this on my Walkman, thinking, "Wow, this is really good!" It's interesting how this album has grown in popularity over the years. It didn't chart until eight years after its release, but it was already certified platinum. This was classic alt back when alternative really was alternative and very much underground (especially in a rural area like where I lived -- I bet no more than 20 kids in my graduating class knew of the band.) Classic album. 5 stars.

Edgy, raw energy. Acoustic musicality.

a classic. no other energy like it. must be the guy hammering the acoustic bass.

This is perfect Halloween music. Michael Jackson singing Thriller in a graveyard isn't scary. The Monster Mash isn't as gross as the title suggests. But Violent Femmes are legitimately spooky. The almost-unplugged production sounds like an old house about to collapse. The marimba is cool and haunting. But it's the singer's rat scrotum delivery and unsolicited horned up lyrics that really make this creepy. Catchy as hell and the hits are great and the little hits are too but shit like "I'm gonna get her drunk, maker her cry, get her high, touch her all over her body" and I have to assume this is just a portrait of a character that he's inhabiting very very well. Maybe under the hood, Violent Femmes are like the Catcher in the Rye of 80s music. Maybe they're just good at conveying the spirits of perverts and small devils on your shoulder. Due credit for taking punk in a folk direction. B-

A bit weird and shouty

When I was at uni in 1990, my friend Kate and I skipped lectures one afternoon to go see the Femmes busking at Circular Quay (filmed for the Noise on SBS TV). That sunny afternoon next to Sydney Harbour, singing along to the band, is one of my favourite live music memories. You see snippets of that day here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2J6d0EVEJE This record is an unequivocal and absolutely unique masterpiece. Raw and immediate, with unsophisticated recording style and (almost) no embellishment, this is probably the best expression of teenage frustration and anxiety ever recorded. It feels _so_ real. The bare arrangements mean that the songs seem completely unfiltered. This album is so honest that it feels like a secret every time you listen to it; I can't believe they are saying what they are saying! And yet, this obviously hit a nerve with many, many people; sales estimates to date are around 3 million copies sold (and, one has to think, a handful of furtively taped copies for each disc sold). Nearly every member of my generation (at least in the more alternative circles I moved in) can sing Add it Up, Blister on the Sun, or Gone Daddy Gone from memory at the drop of a hat. The basic recording means this never sounds old, and, interestingly, my 16-year-old son has this album on his want list, so it clearly still speaks to young people today.

Add it up

Had always assumed this was early to mid 90s. Way ahead of its time

Very cool

Good

How did this come out in 1983? It's got 1990s written all over it. Acoustic punk rock is probably the most punk punk could be, and this is a timeless classic. Everyone knows "Blister In The Sun" but there's not a bad song on here, everything has its own groove and hook like "Add It Up", "To The Kill" and "Gone Daddy Gone", and everything sounds like it was recorded in one straight shot as stripped back as everything feels. Real garage music energy.

Maybe my favorite album Of. All. Time? Like for real. It’s down to this, the White Album and REM Reckoning. Top 3.

This was a favorite of mine in my teen years of the late 90s. Brings back the feeling of freedom that came with having a car to take myself out of the suburb and into the city. Crossing the river into Cincinnati with the windows down to let in the sticky night air, on the way to go smoke clove cigarettes and drink maple coffee at the nocturnal coffeehouse. Big Hands, I know you're the one. 5

The Violent Femmes really capture a lot of the awkwardness, anger and uncertainty of being young. Musically, the songs are earthy, bare bones, and full of attitude. The lyrics are pissy and unrepentantly hormonal, with a generous dose of humor. But there are surprising moments of raw vulnerability and off-kilter charm as well. It feels like just about the most unsettlingly honest group of songs you'll ever hear. It's a pretty perfect album. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Blister in the Sun, Good Feeling, Gone Daddy Gone, Kiss Off, Please Do Not Go, Add It Up, Prove My Love, To the Kill, Promise, Confessions

This might be the first "alternative" album I ever heard. I thought it was the weirdest thing I had ever heard. Was this guy serious? Is he actually angry or not? I hadn't heard punk before so the attitudes and forthright emotion confused my 12 year old brain. I thought a lot about the lyrics in a way that I had never analyzed the records I liked from C+C Music Factory and Culture Club. When I was exposed to this record I also heard Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The vocals on those records were hard to make out at times but the vocals on Violent Femmes are so clear.

How do they manage to make an acoustic guitar sound so godly orgasmic? The album cover and eery acoustic sound give off old western vibes. It's energetic, witty, and exciting. You can feel the raw emotion and turmoil of the vocalist. It's fun to sing along to most of these songs. The instrumentation is interesting (particularly their unique usage of acoustics and the xylophone), and the solos are especially creative. Every song is fantastic, even the least popular songs feel perfected to every second. This is what punk is all about, and I'm glad there were more bands besides The Replacements in the 80s fusing punk with more melodic rock styles (from a different approach of New Wave). Wish the two bonus tracks were incorporated into the album somehow, maybe with a little more polish ("Ugly" straight up sounds like 60s garage), cause "Good Feeling" is a great note to send off with.

Somehow ahead of its time and one-of-a-kind and timeless all at the same time. 1983!? A year before the previously mentioned abomination of 1984? I first heard "Blister in the Sun" in the early 90s, having no idea that it was nearly a decade old. It's one of the songs that got me into music. I mean, I'd always listened to music, but it was just whatever radio station or cassettes my parents put on. A bunch of pop radio and Madonna and Paula Abdul. So Violent Femmes was a revelation. It's a sound that somehow combines punk, surf rock, folk and country rock, alternative, 90s and 00s indie, and more all into something that is all of those and none of those and more. It is cohesive and consistent for the duration. Violent Femmes does not boast the best vocals or the cleanest playing, but it is more than the sum of its parts. Much more.

Wow. I have ways loved this record. For sure one of the best sad boi albums. It's very simple yet i think it really inspired a lot of bands after it. Will never not wanna listen to this album. The bass playing is phenomenal and while the lyrics are rather crude and sometimes borderline creepy just has so much emotion behind them. No doubt there's so problematic emotions here. Its just so raw.

It’s interesting getting this right after REM. Michael Stipe’s voice is mumbly and bland whereas Gano squeezes so much out of his, lots of highs and lows, fortissimos and pianissimos, and full of angst. It’s amazing that these three buskers could serve up such a variety of great songs and sounds with only minimal instrumentation. Not too many debut albums are better than this one.

16 year old me, at a church dance. DJ says, "If anyone has any requests, bring it on." I smile, joke with my friends, and saunter up to request "Add It Up". The music starts, people are dancing, then the needle screeches across the record. I was asked to leave. This shit still makes me laugh 40 years later.

It’s funny how “Blister in the Sun” is the biggest hit off this album, yet to me, it’s one of the most annoying songs ever. For many years, I was turned off by Violent Femmes because of that song. But then I heard “Add It Up” and fell in love with it, so I decided to get the album. Once I did, it became one of my favorites for a while. Violent Femmes is one of those bands that straddles the line between folk and punk, but they also have a fun and playful undertone. Although I’ve played this album so many times that I probably won’t go back to it in the future, it will always have a special place in my heart.

I'd heard the name, back in the 80s, but never got to know this band. I was hoping for edgy 80s indie/punk. I thought at first I was going to be really disappointed: I don't like a drawling vocal style, and didn't like the first track at all. But things really improved. Add It Up convinced me that the band had great energy, punk sensibilities, a hint of folk, and a sense of swagger and humour (which, yes, I mention frequently). And then it kept getting better, harking back to Iggy and a stripped-back Doors, as well as the Velvet Underground, but also sounding fresh. The folk influence, happily, persisted, and then unexpectedly you got the bonkers rock n roll of Gone Daddy Gone, which is a bit B52s. It made me happy that the album ended with some quite earnest la-la-la-ing. And had some great bass playing and a xylophone! Decent.

Promise My first album rating is a debut one, that's odd. The sound signature is very organic and humble, looks like it's part of a rehearsal equipment, honestly I rather listen to instruments and records like this, the production may not be the better, but it gives a unique atmosphere for the whole project. From "Violence" I guess it's a puzzle to the listener, how about put a kind of name with "Femmes", it reminds of 10CC for example. I really appreciate the folk here with essence off the period, most likely was Murmur by R.E.M. in the same release day though. Viewing the art cover plus the content, I premiss that's a great way to start head all the entire thing, as you can see after almost 4 decades still their big deal carrying the rest of their career in the back, literally. B+

This album is way ahead of its time. It’s Indy before Indy. It’s pixies and the shins abd decemberists. It’s a mash up of the energy and grime of punk but the acoustic sensibilities and tempo of django rheinhardt. The combo of acoustic punk and the clever wordplay, lyrics and delivery make this band delightful. There are 5 of my favorite songs on this album, the rest feel like repetition or filler, sadly. If this album were 5 songs it would be a 5, but it’s not so it’s a 4.

My brother got suspended from our school for covering "Blister in the Sun" at a high school talent show. His band name was 4:19. "We're 4:19, anyone got a minute? Hueh hueh hueh". Had no idea this came out in 1983, thought for sure it was late 90s. I guess they must have been important or something, huh. The vocals sound like I'm being serenaded by a serial killer, and I'm quite smitten. Loving the acoustic bass solo in track 3. Ah there's Gordon again, ready to come flay my flesh and feed me my genitals, prepared over a nice cassoulet (but with a midwest tater tot twist). Man, so much is derivative of this sound, I really need to revisit the Violent Femmes. Does it slap? It slaps.

Feeling a little bamboozled that a band called Violent Femmes is a bunch of dudes. However, I really liked this album. Very simple, organic punk rock. There's a welcome clarity to both the vocals and the instruments that often isn't the case with punk, but the energy is still there. Really love the xylophone on "Gone Daddy Gone." I can totally hear how this became a cult classic. And when I heard "Add It Up," I recognized it immediately as a Tony Hawk song....sure enough, Underground 2. Favorite tracks: Add It Up, Blister in the Sun, Gone Daddy Gone, Prove My Love. Album art: I like this picture. Seems like a companion to that Siamese Dream cover in a way. Apparently they paid this girl's mom $100 to take a quick pic. For some presumably broke punksters, that's a great way to get an album cover. 4/5

Violent Femmes are punk/alt-rock royalty. And for good reason. Coming into this one, I had very very positive feelings for this band and this album in particular. But this project has got me listening to things that I know far more critically than when I'm listening for fun. That's why Violent Femmes only gets a 4 instead of a 5 star rating this time. While I still absolutely adore this album, and it's full of absolute killers (Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, Add It Up, Gone Daddy Gone, Good Feeling), there are some real stinkers as well (Please Do Not Go) and the musicality is... not awesome. Many times intentionally so... but not always so intentionally so, you know? Violent Femmes, I still love you... I just can't give you full marks.

Une expérience assez unique par rapport à tout ce que j'ai pu écouter jusqu'à présent dans ce projet. Les premières chansons m'ont fait lever un sourcil, mais au fur et à mesure que l'album avançait, j'ai fini par me faire à leur style, ce qui a fait que j'ai pu beaucoup plus apprécier leurs différentes trouvailles (le solo de xylophone sur Gone Daddy Gone a vraiment un effet particulier). Bref, 3,5 arrondi en dessous. De belles trouvailles, mais pas forcément mon style et un quand même un peu trop space pour moi

Sounds extremely out of place for it’s time. This feels like it could have come out of 90s and 2000s indie scene. Never been a big indie fan but it’s fine.

Simpler songs than I remember. I like the unique spotlight on the upright bass. The whiny vocals got tiresome after 2-3 songs. "Blister in the Sun" is entrenched in the auditory catalog of my adolescence.

After Blister In The Sun I was just annoyed by the vocals. I couldn't take a full album of that. Really thought I'd enjoy this more but it just didn't do it for me.

Unerträglich, wieder einmal. Ein „Blindes-Huhn-findet-auch-mal-ein-Korn“-Wunder (wegen 'Blister in the Sun').

If you've never been a horny 17 year old boy you'll probably not gonna understand this album. There's banger after after banger, it's absolutely relatable and that last song I've been playing pretty much every time I was getting back home from a party when I was a teenage boy.

Wonderful and weird

Love this, one of my favorites. So much energy and angst. I've never found anything quite like it. What acoustic punk album has a marimba solo?

I've stated repeatedly that I'm not a lyrics guy, but this project has made me shift through so much pretentious singer-songwriter bullshit, and here we have Gordon Gano, age 19 when the album came out, writing most of these songs in high school and delivering so many direct, simple, emotional, cathartic statements and marry them perfectly to anxious, wiry, angular, catchy music. Yes, this album is seemingly about high school angst, but let's be real, the emotions covered here stick with most men throughout their lives. Their greatest hits are all here: "Blister In The Sun," "Kiss Off" (one of my all-time favorite songs), "Add It Up," "Gone Daddy Gone" (the greatest use of xylophone in any rock song ever) along with some less-heralded but equally great album tracks in "Prove My Love," "Promise," "Ugly" and the sinister "Gimme The Car." Gano may have peaked as a songwriter in high school. Their follow-up, Hallowed Ground, was very good, trading teen-angst for religious angst (his father was a Baptist minister), but after that the band felt like a ship without a course. Regardless, the first album is an absolute masterpiece.

For me this is a perfect album front to back

An example of the perfection achieved when the accountants have no say in the art. A brilliant record.

I played this album in 1983 and 1984 as a college DJ—and it’s as vital now as then. Pure rock from a teen perspective- still perfect after all this time.

Perfect garage-pop with zero polish and a ton of attitude. It feels like the soundtrack to a very anxious teenager's summer (me?). The simple approach makes everything catchy. This is pure, raw banger territory. Spins: All Day Playlist Additions Blister In The Sun Kiss Off Add It Up Promise Good Feeling Ugly Gimme The Car

This is everything I love about rock and roll and pop music. Raw, unalloyed, hard driving, energetic, stupid and just out and out fun. The stripped back sound, the acoustic bass guitar, the snare drum wallop and then there's Gordon Gano. There's a lot to be said for sitting in your bedroom for a while and thinking about shit. You kind of don't want to think too hard about what was going on with Gordon, but hey he got it right and put it in a song/s. It's an absolute joy from go to whoa.

Wall to wall bangers.

The blessings from OAD continue with the Violent Femmes' first record. I've loved this one for years. I was six when it came out, and I probably only heard of "Blister in the Sun" when the song's appearance on the Gross Pointe Blank soundtrack created a short-lived revival of the Femmes' popularity. No, no wait, I think I first heard of the Femmes when Ethan Hawke sang "Add it Up" at Winona Ryder in Reality Bites. To me, this album, more than any other, captures the frustrated aggression, depression, and sexual frustration of older adolescent young men. Gordon Gano is not cool in the conventional rock star sense. Any swagger on this record bursts through in a messy wave of unmanaged testosterone. What else would we expect from an acoustic punk record written by a Milwaukee high schooler with arrangements hashed out by the band while busking? At least, that's the legend I'm allowing myself to believe. This is not the most artistic, important, uplifting, creative, or beautiful album in my collection, not by a long shot. Still, this is the one I wish I had written. Five stars. Side note: the Craft Records vinyl of this album, sold on Amazon, is fantastic. When you get your copy, make sure that it has an internal, thin black border on the red hype sticker.

This was the very first CD I ever received that made me interested in music. Its crazy to think that that this album was released in 1983, it sounds like something that would have been huge a decade or so after. Very impactful album on me and the landscape of music overall.

The sound of house sharing, bald room mate cleaning the carpet to Good Feeling. Blister In The Sun, Add it Up, Confessions, Gone daddy Gone (not the hideous cover) Fricken belter of an album.

Top five all-time for me.

Certified classic, it‘s amazing to think that this album came out in the eighties. This started my folk punk phase when I was getting out of my emo phase.

incredibile che sia stato fatto nell'83

I love the guitar in this album, simple but honest like a nirvana or Johnny cash sound. This guy’s got a kinda whiny Midwest or punk voice.

When I first heard about Violent Femmes it was in comparison to They Might be Giants & Ween. Two bands that I did not like (I’ve since softened on Ween though). So I never listened for a long time. What a mistake! So awesome & all acoustic too.

Always found this band and their music so original! Can't think of anyone else doing something like it - and for that alone my 5/5 Also, the humor, the energy, I don't know, I can't explained it; I simply love this :-D

5 out of 5 So many great songs and great memories of high school parties. Every song rocks. I'd give it an 8 if I could but I forgot what 8 was for.

No notes. Folk punk perfection that everyone knows but can’t remember where from.

One of the best, endlessly quotable. It's such a fun, weird little record. They proved you can be punk without distortion.

This is the two hundred tenth album I’m rating. For a little over a month I've been avoiding this album but here I am now. Adding to my Playlist - Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, Please Do Not Go, Add it Up, Confessions, Prove my Love, Promise, To the Kill, Gone Daddy Gone, and Good Feeling. Not Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. All in all I liked 10/10 songs. Good music for a bit of a stressful time.

Why was the bass so good? Why did I know almost half the album from games and films but not the name of the band? Hooray for the lovely music times :)

I really adored this one. This type of folksy punk wasn’t something I’d ever hear on this project but I was so surprised I wanted to give it 5 stars just based on genre alone. But then the lyrics turned out so funny and charming with an obvious beating heart below that I just can’t help but love it. It’s wonderful! Really

For some reason, the objectification of women doesn’t bother me when it’s in this genre. I love this. I wish I had known about this album as a teenager.

Fascinated to learn this album was recorded when the singer was 20 and he wrote all the songs in high school. And that he's a devout Christian, who knew? This album seemed to be a mainstay of the nerds I was around my freshman year of college, but don't think I ever heard the whole thing. Much better than I expected.

254/1089 - Cool sound; weird (in-a-good-way) voice; great bass player. On a different note, I dislike most reviews on this website but people really need to learn the difference between unrequited love and being an incel.

hell yeah

Very nice

Fantastic from start to finish.

The stereotypical example for “ahead of its time”. I’ve been a little generous with scores recently but this one is deserving. These songs are all great. The vocals work with the style even if they aren’t “good”.

Day 40 Wow, can’t believe I’d never heard this album before, absolutely love it. Instantly hooked me in and has been on repeat all day and probably will be for a good while yet. Been a long time since I instantly got hooked on an album after a first listen like this. 10/10 Highlights Kiss Off Add it Up Gone Daddy Gone

Honestly kind of a perfect album, dare I say timeless?

Even better than I remember.

4 great songs, rest is a vibe. Its a good album. Remember crazy reverse cover, gone daddy gone, blister.

Fantastic album. One of the best all-time debut albums. Pitchfork: 9.1 Rolling Stone: n/a Best Songs Blister In The Sun Kiss Off Please Do Not Go Add It Up Gone Daddy Gone Good Feeling

bass player sick af

Debut, Milwaukee punks, Modern lovers Blister in the sun Kiss off Add it up

this is probably a "you had to be there" kind of album and i could imagine someone hearing this for the first time hating it lol. however, for me, this is a timeless masterpiece. will listen to this until i croak

This is a magic-in-a-bottle type of record that captured everything perfectly and established a career. No, they would never live up to this, but more importantly, they MADE THIS. An amazing record full of instant classics.

5 starts for it's uniqueness. Did these guys start the freak folk / acoustic punk movement? No idea but they're awesome. A really unique sound.

One of the great indie albums of all time. Whiny, nasal vocals, mariachi bass, high snare drums. Songs about sexual frustration, masturbation, kissing people off, unrequited love, gun violence, absent parents and occasionally getting laid. Teenage feelings have never been so well documented. Best Tracks: Blister In The Sun; Kiss Off; Prove My Love

Went through my life thinking this album came out ten years later. What a zap to the brain this must've been in 83. Don't have much to say about this: tightly controlled slightly-out-of-control. It's fun, it gets you moving without doing too much, it's infectious. I'm pro.

1001albumsgenerator project: Album 6 - Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes "Day after day / I get angry" I won't ever forget the first day I heard a song from this album, excluding Blister in the Sun, I was watching The 100 and Add it Up started playing, perfectly used in context, and all I could think of was "Man this guy is really angry he can't fuck, huh?"... little did I know this was gonna become one of my favourite albums ever… I also realized he's also sad because he can't fuck. Jokes aside, this record is SO ahead of its time, Violent Femmes here sound like The Pixies but roughly 5 years earlier and with a folk/acoustic twist, but don't let that fool you, despite this release being mostly acoustic, the songs are as fast, loud and powerful as punk music usually is. Many people like to point out the lyrics can be corny but I believe they're missing the point. We're hearing a 20 or so years old Gordon Gano sing about his frustration, his weaknesses and his romantic failures with a little sprinkle of sarcasm here and there, and you can't help but feel those lyrics actually mean a lot to him, the way he sings them. The vocals are so raw and visceral and at points genuinely scary, making him sound like a guy who could snap at any time due to accumulated resentment. The highlights of the LP to me are obviously Blister in the Sun, absolutely incredible song that would've gone "viral" even if it was released in the 90. Again, so ahead of its time. Gone Daddy Gone is also a high point of this record: I don't know what the creative process was behind the idea of adding a xylophone in a folk punk, but it makes the song very enjoyable and catchy. The Xylophone solo as well is absolutely incredible and unique. Good Feeling is a beautiful song to end on. It was probably meant to show that all of his anger and inner turmoil were directed at no one but him, rather than at failed romantic interests. Generally speaking though, the tracklist is very tight and it's just a banger after banger after banger. The quintessential teenage angst album that won't ever get old. Either way, this is just my opinion. So try not to pay too much attention to it.

That was like a breath of fresh air! Great, almost exclusively acoustic sound coupled with energetic delivery scratches the itch for me. I liked "Add it up" and "Gone Daddy Gone".