Reviews (page 5 of 14)
Leí folk punk y pensé era chiste. Pero de verdad son eso. Me gustó, se disfruta el álbum. No es espectacular pero entretenido album. Los gritos del tipo me hacen acordar a Julian Casablancas. Y amo como en todo el punk siempre hay cosas de Iggy. Incluso en el folk punk 7/10
Love this album, have not listened to it in a long time, but very early 2009 I was obsessed
Better than Coldplay
Solid fun! ★★★★
Ferskir
Confessions made me laugh
Really good kinda punky folk. Every song here is quite good with classic songs like Blister in the Sun. Very unique album and just extremely memorable.
Another example of being experimental going right. Best-Gone daddy gone Worst-Prove my love
Un album que me anima; tocan lo justo y cantan sin más. Distinto
Knew more than expected. Good overall
Good. I liked opening songs. It was definitely closer to my genre than the last albums. I enjoyed
Surprisingly good.
7/10 lots of fun rock folk songs
I really enjoyed this very much. It's really homemade in the production, but there's still a lovely quality and consistency to it. I think maybe the best known song (Blisters in the Sun) isn't super representative and probably does the rest of it down a little.
3.5
3.5
The epitomy of 80s teenage angst. An album far ahead of its time. 4 stars
Add it up = banger, playful album
Incredibly fun, raw, horny, full of teenage angst. Honestly I can't believe that this was recorded in 1983
pretty good
This album is ahead of its time, birthing folk punk far before it became a genre. Always a classic in my mind. Happy for its inclusion on this list.
Favorite songs: Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, Add It Up, Gone Daddy Gone, Good Feeling Gimme The Car: Oof.
Wauw wat een album, je hoort hoe grote bands als foo fighters hier naar geluisterd hebben. Ook weer een parel terug gevonden die lang vergeten was en waarvan ik niet wist dat dit de band was van dat nummer.
Blister in the Sun is just so iconic - a staple of every indie 2000's movie. Overall the album had a range of songs that I thought were well written and songs that sounded like they were the ramblings of a very drunk and/or unwell man.
I liked this album. I wanted to like it a bit more than I did but I think I just wasn’t in the mood. Will listen again.
I knew the opening song. I didn't realise these guys were from the early 80s, I assumed they were late 90s/early 00s. I think I detected elements of a Velvet Underground sound here too.
Dope
This was a fun album ... Acoustic Punk?
Not quite as good as pixies
Favorite track(s): Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, Add It Up, Prove My Love, To the Kill
Before listening to this I know 2 songs, one that I really like and one that I absolutely LOATHE, being "Blister in the Sun" and "Gone Daddy Gone" respectively. Upon listening I'm struck by how "ahead of the time" this is. It's got kind of a 90s energy which is shocking since it came out in the early 80s I still really dislike Gone Daddy Gone though, I think the xylophone just irks me This album also rivals "Pinkerton" in terms of "weirdo loser who can't talk to women" energy but I do unfortunately like music like that. Loser core type beat y'know?
reminds me of cherry pie weirdly
Good to hear this again. Was regular rotation in highschool and college.
The standout blend of distinctive vocals and punchy acoustic guitar makes Violent Femmes (1983) a truly enjoyable album. It felt remarkably ahead of its time back then, and I was eager for more. Unfortunately, their subsequent releases never lived up to that brilliant debut.
Pretty good - this guys voice annoys me and some of these songs I don’t like but the good ones are great. Low 4
My enjoyment of this album kept on growing all the way through the runtime - and I'm sure I'll like it even more on second listen. I could not believe this came out in 1983! I'd have put money on it being mid 90s or later. Very solid throughout. Favourites: Add It Up Prove My Love Gone Daddy Gone
I really enjoy the guitar and rhythm usage throughout the entire album. I felt like the pinnacle of an angsty teen as I leaned back in my bed, legs curled up, looking out my window as I devoured this album. I feel like this is an album best enjoyed in the summer months with its light, bouncy sounds. I think this is one I’d like to procure. Overall, this brought me back to high school a bit and I liked it a lot. Favorite Songs: Blister In The Sun - only one I recognized by title, classic. Kiss Off - enjoy the start and count off in the lyrics Add It Up - went between “like this” and “yikes”, but good beat and silly lyrics Prove My Love - fun start and bop of a song Promise - ‘…you know that I want your loving, but my logic tells me that it ain’t never gonna happen and then my defenses say I didn’t want it anyway’ Gone Daddy Gone - really enjoy the xylophone riff and bass drum and instrumental parts of this, lot of summery vibes in this one song Good Feeling - feels a bit like a sunset Ugly - see title! also, the beat!
- Ugly og den første er veldig bra - Fengende annerledes
i hate blister in the sun so much so my hopes were not high but i actually loved this
Surprisingly "millenial" album in my opinion, mixing the self-depreciating humour with genuine dark moments. Something like trauma response of the aforementioned age group. At the same time lively, disturbing, and deadpan depressing. Reminds me also of top form Velvet Underground.
I only knew one song from them before this, interested to hear more. Very summery vibes. Really good overall ! Fav song is ‘Please Do Not Go’.
j’ai adoré, je pensais pas que c’était ça et je suis pas déçue
I liked how this album was catchy and unique. However, there wasn’t as much variety as I would have liked to have seen, but it was a good album overall.
approvo, diverse canzoni sono sul mio genere, o almeno quello che mi piace al momento
so confused how that’s an 80s not a mid 90s grunge album
Acoustic punk is something I never knew could hit
A classic, Ive loved it for years
DUDE I love kiss off. EVERYTHINGEVERYTHINGEVERYTHING yeah this album probably inspired a lot of stuff im into, i think they’re so fun and awesome. Definitely can’t deny how unique this was for its time. Please please please do not goooOOOO. I love how rly raw it is like whole house lonely. whole house angry. I know dat right.
Со второго раза больше зашло
4.5
Great album. Folk punk. A few classic songs and others are solid.
A 3.5 for me. It's a fun album
I like this album. The instrumentation is sparse, but I love the sound, and they manage to make it very expressive.
Great
mhhh blister in the sun
Hat Spaß gemacht
Witzig
Beste Unterhaltung.
Darn good. Voice wears after a while.
Feels like 90s despite being 80s which is honestly a plus for me. Pretty enjoyable, fun, kinda horny album
When I was a music student my friends and I used to have folk music jam parties (to be fair I mostly listened or banged on a pot while my friends played music), but because I loved Blister in the Sun so much I learned to play it on accordion. It's pretty easy, but that doesn't change how great it--and this album--is.
Blister in the sun, and some other amazing tracks that I had heard before but never the whole album. Didn’t realize this came out in 1983 but you can’t even tell it’s timeless.
I honestly was expecting women singers when seeing the album, but even so I thought the music was very good.
Oh, hello! In the age of DX7 and Prophet 5's genesis, even in the realm of Rock, it's definitely refreshing to hear some 'roots' arrangements (acoustic guitar, occasional double bass, drums, sometimes a piano). Lyrics sound like a angsty teenaged Jonathan Richman, which isn't bad. Definite Mahit-Core imo, if only for the cheesy lyrics that will make him cum and shid his pants out of pure ecstasy.
Know the words to almost all the songs, so kinda love it, but struggle these days with the incel angst of some of the lyrics.
ok
I can't remember the last time I've had such mixed feelings on here. I think it's kinda shitty, but I kinda like it anyway; I guess that's punk in a nutshell when it works. It's mostly simplistic outside of a xylophone appearance (which was fun), and the vocals are just plain bad. And yet...I couldn't help tapping my toes at points. It's...enigmatic. (Have I ever used the word enigmatic before? The over/under on that is 1.5, and I think I'd take the under, but that's how I feel about this album.) Any rating on here is justified. I'm gonna lean towards a 4 even though part of me wants to give it a 1. Points for evoking a strong response even if the music might be bad. 3.9
Great
I quite liked this. It’s basically acoustic guitar punk which was cool. The best part was definitely the acoustic guitars and how clean they sound and the slap bass to go along with it. Most of the songs were catchy as well. This feels ahead of its time considering this is from 1983, it’s got the kind of attitude and lyrics you would find in 90’s stuff. This feels very Pixies as well mostly with the harmonies like you would hear in surfer rosa plus also the themes in the lyrics which I mentioned. The vocalist could get a bit annoying at times at first I thought but I got used to his voice. Again, very punky in his style. Favourites: Blister in the sun, Add it up, prove my love and promise. Overall, 7/10.
Favorite Tracks: Blister in the Sun / Kiss Off / Prove My Love / Promise / Gone Daddy Gone Rating: 4.3 As a bass player I love Brian Ritchie's thrashy, thumpy acoustic bass riffing on this album. Haven't listened to this in a few years and enjoyed it beginning to end yet again. Its unpolished rawness just works perfectly for this ramshackle set of brash, twisted, angsty yet hilarious and catchy tunes. The treasure of this may that they self-funded it before even meeting their record label; who knows what we would have gotten with some coked-out 80's A&R guy overseeing it, but it wouldn't have been this brilliant.
Lowkey scrappy.
If this came out today it would have an absolute chokehold on Gen Z indieheads
O começo do álbum me pegou muito! Depois deu uma desandada, mas acredito que seja o caos de estar apaixonado e não dar certo kkkk Fora as letras um pouco contra mulheres, mas anos 80 né
gritty, full of energy and emotion. And nostalgic from the listening to it from youth. big love. some lyrics not it anymore though
Commendable first album boys.
Come for “Gone Daddy Gone,” stay for the rest of the album. I never liked it that much until right now.
I’m concerned about some of the lyrics but I like the sound. I always thought they would be women though tbh.
A strong 4, better than I expected. Sounds like Pixies in a really good way.
Album Review 041 Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes (1983) Rating 4/5 How had I never heard this album? Yeah, sure everybody knows Blister In the Sun, and maybe I thought it was a bit of a novelty one-off and didn’t think they were a band who had much else to offer so didn’t have the inspiration to dig further into their work?? I was wrong, Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes is an excellent record; it’s stripped-down low-fi alt-rock without any pretence (if that’s the right word??) and reminded me of early Modern Lovers - which certainly isn’t a bad thing.
So that’s what this band sounds like
Great energy and angst. Blister is a classic banger.
wish white boys still made music like this!! overall really enjoyed this album & the sound very much.
jan 4, 2026, first listen [before listening] i dont think ive heard anything by these guys outside of "blister in the sun." i still find it hard to believe that its from the 80s as it has the brand of off-kilter angst id associate with the alternative music coming out in the 90s. then again, there are a fair amount of 80s albums that feel more like they belong in the 90s. im interested in hearing what the instrumentation on this sounds like [on kiss off] DUDE listen to that bass. i feel like the fact that the lead guitar is acoustic gives the bass so much opportunity to shine. this song rules [on add it up] im trying not to start every one of these notes with "dude" and then my thoughts but DUDE that slow build of the vocals to the main portion of the song. God Damn. [on confessions] i like the vocal inflection on those repeated lines ("hurry, hurry, hurry"). the vocals remind me of cameron winter a little bit here. Sorry for being gen z [on gone daddy gone] i kind of forgot this was by violent femmes. i havent heard this on the radio nearly as much as "blister in the sun" but i do like this song! listen to that xylophone solo. that fucking rules
I really enjoyed this. Standout tracks: - Kiss Off - Add It Up - Confessions
Really great, absolutly love the vocals and how they are delivered.
My first album review!!! Violent Femmes identity as an American punk album is shown to the listener front and center; the overdriven guitar that drives the songs on the album has an amazing tone, this alongside the oftentimes coarse vocals solidifying the feel. Whilst there were a few standout tracks on this album for me (‘Add it up’ and ‘Gimme the Car’), this album is crazy consistent in terms of the general sound of the album (punky and loud). Whilst I would have preferred a little more variety in the sound of some of the songs (they tend to get a bit samey after a while), this album is insanely solid and catchy. Would relisten!!!! Standout track: Gimme the Car Precise rating for nerds: 72/100
not horrid to listen to actually quite enjoyable to listen to VERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYY WEIRD LYRICS. Nice beat and intro quite slower for me however the guitar riffs make it interesting. some lyrics are too repetitive for me but I really like the build up (Track-Gimme The Car) . I've never heard of this so it gives me a variety to listen to in the future. What I find amusing, is the intro in the track ( Prove my love) its really upbeat and it has energy. What I like about the album is that there's a mix of slow and some kind of fast beats. In the track (Gone Daddy Gone) I quite like the rhyming scheme its creates a smooth transition which seems poetic and delightful to listen. Overall I do like some of the songs on this album but some can be quite slow(not catchy) and repetitive at bits, which are a bit boring to me whereas, I really liked the intros and build up to the chorus. My favourite tracks- Blister in the sun/ or / Add It Up
A really really good album. The first 4 songs are by far the best on the album but unlike a lot of albums this doesn't take away from how good the rest of the album is. I normally really don't like folk/country/music that generally sounds like this however this album was really nice and i genuinely enjoyed listening to it. A light to decent 8
Tää oli hyvä. Puhdasta muokkaamatonta ääntä ja kovaa soitantaa
Was never a big Violent Femmes guy until I caught them live with Flogging Molly a few years back. Such a great show. Dude played the biggest fucking saxophone I ever saw, and then to top that, the teeniest tiniest saxophone I ever saw. These fucking lunatics even busted out Webber BBQ grill and played that thing too. Wild shit. 3.5⭐️
The first four songs had me doing the Vince McMahon 'escalating reaction' meme....but unfortunately it can't keep going at that clip. A lot of classics here though: can't believe "Gone Daddy Gone" was the only single. Some of the songs sound very similar, but I guess that's to be expected for this genre and it being a debut album. 4.5 stars.
More than one hit? I never knew
Fun as fuck and way, way ahead of it's time
01) Blister in the Sun - 10,0 02) Kiss Off - 7,5 03) Please Do Not Go - 7,5 04) Add It Up - 7,5 05) Confessions - 7,0 06) Prove My Love - 7,5 07) Promise - 7,0 08) To the Kill - 7,0 09) Gone Daddy Gone - 10,0 10) Good Feeling - 7,0 TOTAL: 7,80 (78/100) Current ranking: 276/781
Pretty timeless, this would rock if it came out today
Fue una experiencia de escucha sencilla, es un proyecto solido a mi parecer
Really enjoy the unique sounds, at times I’m taken aback(in a good way) on how oddly satisfying they are (e.g. Gone Daddy Gone).
Very ahead of its time, even if I prefer the alternative rock that came towards the end of the decade.
Very interesting
A classic album. An amazing debut. Listened many times before. That bass on Please Do Not Go though, I was hooked.
Not nearly a new album for me, I have been carrying a VF poster between my last 3 apartments, but a welcome listen anyways. Even so its been a while since I actually sat through the full album and I am reminded how much I like it.
I enjoy discovering this album.
God I'm tired... This has nothing to do with the album. I'm just tired as hell.
i see the vision they’re quite nice, it gives big thief but i listened to like the first 3 songs so i cant pin point an overall judgement.
I have listened to two of this album's songs. the rest is also good, aligns with my taste.
good, i liked it, classic 80s rock
It was chilll
four, four, four for my headaches
3.75/5 is perfect Its smart and musical Favourites kiss off please do not go and good feeling
Surprisingly modern sounding for 1983 - you can definitely hear the influence this had on late 80s, 90s alternative rock. Low 4. Good Feeling is such a beautiful song. Easily the best song on the album.
pleasantly suprised by this. obviously i know the first track, and going off of this, i wasnt expecting to like it. but! it is so much better. like everyone else has said, it does not sound like its from the early 80s. i listened to so many crappy albums growing up that were knock offs of this, its like the other side of the coin to the meat puppets
The album gets better as it goes
Didn’t enjoy but was good
Siempre me ha hecho gracia que un grupo llamado “chicas violentas” fuésen un campo de nabos. Dicho esto, buen album de punk mezclando rock y folk. Muchos grupos de post hardcore no existirían sin ellos
The hits are hits, but this whole album was very enjoyable.
Great album. Enjoyed it.
Quite courteous of them to open with the "what would I know you from?" track "Blister in the Sun." "Blister" is really, really good; in the right commercial I bet it could really move a ton of hamburgers. The rest of the album's reasonably good. The folk punk sound works pretty well for me. Low 4.
I surprisingly liked some of ridiculous lyrics and beats
some great songs on here.
Stripped-down acoustic folk-punk; I like how the sound of the fret buzz on the bass and the slightly wonky vocal harmonies add to the aesthetic. It's a remarkably strong collection of songs - which may have lost their charm if another band had written and recorded them with more complicated arrangements. Unique vocal style. Strong 4.
I didn't realize how much of this album had permeated my mind over the years despite not owning it. A uni best friend loved it and obviously played it & added it to mixtapes enough! It's an enjoyable blast all the way through and has such irrepressible energy.
A band called "Violent Femmes", recorded in 1982 and in the Genre Punk. I was prepared for the first... and pleasantly surprised. Someone mentioned "acoustic punk", and that's exactly what this is. Very nice. Unsure whether I should look into their other albums... I'm not ready to be disappointed.
It has such a 90s vibe to it
Sick, cathartic, acoustic work of art
Joda, greit nok på en torsdag...
Hooky songs that sound like they could have come out yesterday, because there's still nothing quite like it
A bunch of songs that I've heard but never knew the artist. Unique voice and fun music. Really enjoyed it.
Cool aesthetic, unusual arrangements. Odd instrumentation makes it standout but also limit the upside. While I’m banging out these reviews I’m At a children’s playground listening to two dads have the most brutal conversation. One guy is telling the other about his boring software job and the other guy is just really politely taking it and clearly would rather be anywhere but here. He wants to be 21 again, screaming about girls breaking up with him. He wants to bleed. To feel. He doesn’t want to endure polite society. He wants violence. He wants punk. WHY CANT I GET JUST ONE FUCK. That’s what he’s thinking and the other guys is just standing with a weird power stance saying Yeah, I’ve been there for a year dude. Little more. They treat us well can’t complain dude can’t complain. Hey nice talking to you. WHY CANT I GET JUST ONE FUUUUUCK.
Good
I am surprised at how much I like this album. I’ve known the hits since they came out, but there is something about the economy of the music and the immediacy of the vocals that is really pleasing. It sounds like you are in a small room with the band. And the singers nasally high voice somehow absolutely works.
Love their sound
Wow!
Not just one hit! Im with this
Can’t objectively rate this. Too many memories listening to it. Teen angst and yearning. Love ot
This is where Add It Up comes from! I practically know the song by heart, such nostalgia. It also says something that I never thought to associate the band name with the track, just not my default genre or energy. The vocals are angsty, just barely good enough for commercial success, the pretentiousness is strong but it's definitely part of their likeability. The feel of rugged angry acoustics clash well with the lyrical content. It's a really solid album, on the musically elaborate side of alternative punk rock. The Gone Daddy Gone rabbit hole was fun. I know of the Gnarls Barkley cover, so I paid close attention to the songwriting credits. I first thought the original might've been a work by Willie Dixon himself, reimagined by Gordon Gano, it's really just got a piece of lyric found on "I Just Want To Make Love To You" popularized by Muddy Waters, written by Willie. It's impressive to see how varied the influences can be, and how much of a spin they're capable of giving it with their unique sound and structure. 3.7/5
Ahead of its time. Enjoyed this one.
Another unexpected bit of genius. So many influences combined to make a unique sound. Great, ironic, lyrics. Getting something more from it each time I listen. Will defo be back on the decks..
No one else sounds like the Violent Femmes. Fun album. Highlights: "Blister in the Sun", "Kiss Off", "Gone Daddy Gone / I Just Want To Make Love to You"
So so much fun, exciting and all encompassing. Close to a 5/5, a purely entertaining album
Great album
Highlight Song/s: Blister In The Sun, Kiss Off, Add It Up and Good Feeling This one I've been meaning to have a re-listen recently, well I've listened to this album now for a second time. The first time was when I was sick and my ears were heavily blocked, so I can hear the album a bit better on this second listen. Well the generator blesses the album unto me, so thanks generator! This punk album consists of heavy emphasis on acoustic instruments compared to electric. The guitars on the album are quite chunky sounding. The lyrics and the delivery of the said lyrics are quite bratty, juvenile, immature. I quite love how they don't take anything too seriously on this album. Another aspect that I quite love is the use of this lazily-delivered spoken word, it's used in and around the album but it adds a lot. Some things that I've thought about but don't fit elsewhere, so I'm gonna leave them here: -Gordan Gano has a great sense of melody, and this album is the evidence. -The main riff of Promise sounds like Jumping Someone Else's Train by The Cure This album is filled with amazing lines, but below are among my favourites: "Big hands I know you're the one" (from Blister In The Sun) "I hope you know this will go down on your permanent record" (from Kiss Off) "Why can't I just get one kiss?" (from Add It Up) "Ba-ba-bow-da-da-da" (from Promise) "Good feeling, won't you stay with me just a little longer?" (from Good Feeling)
This album is so incredibly horny. I love it.
The record could've done without the unnecessary vulgarity of the song Add It Up but it was fantastic other than that. I especially liked the songs Blister In the Sun, Confessions and Good Feeling.
This is a really great album. This band sounds so ahead of their time.
I knew quite a few songs, and it still holds up besides being from early eighties.
A review for this album makes me wonder what The Weeknd covering a Violent Femmes song would sound like. Probably awful, but it would at least be funny. Anyways, what a classic album. Never would've guessed this came out in 1983. I really like the singer's voice and the whole thing has a great parody kind of feel to it. Why can't modern incel music be like this?
I can't decide if they are a super weird band making fairly normal music or a pretty normal band making deeply weird music, but either way it's an interesting listen.
Pleasantly surprised by this. Reminds me a bit of the Decemberists, like a pale brass folksy color. Scaled-back/simple version of 2010s folk rock revival.
Album No. 0034 on my list. Of this album, I've only known "Blister in the Sun" so far - a song however wich I really like. And I actually like the rest of the album as well. Not all songs have the same hit potential as "Blister in the Sun", but "Kiss Off" and "To The Kill" are coming close, and there are various other cool songs on this. Decent sound, decent row atitude, decent lyrics - like it! 4/5 stars.
Seemingly years ahead of its time. Such a solid punk album from the early 80’s. Belongs on the list.
The self-titled album by Violent Femmes is a CD I own. I liked it well enough not to sell. Incidentally, I sold too many CDs in my life. I even sold Eno/Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts after my mom explicitly said not to. God, I am so glad she is dead now so she will not find out.
1983 Songs about sex, relationships and loneliness, all to a backdrop of American, acoustic pop-punk. Like a mash-up of Jeffrey Lewis and Jilted John. Quite a revelation that this was released in '83. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ ★★★★☆ (7/10)
Really not familiar with songs other than Blister in the Sun and Kiss Off but it was a fun album to listen to on my commute to work.
I’ve been getting so many painfully boring albums lately; this was a welcome change of pace. 4/5 Highlights: Blister In The Sun Kiss Off Confessions
Without the first Violent Femmes album would we even have Pixies or Neutral Milk Hotel -whose In the Aeroplane Over the Sea really should be on the list incidentally. The vocals are an acquired taste but the one thing that they do they do supremely well but it seems they never really evolved or recaptured the catchiness on display here. Favourite track Add It Up.
This album has a raw, restless energy that makes it feel alive from the very first note. The stripped-down sound gives everything a sharp, jangly edge, and the nervous, slightly unhinged vocals give the songs their punch. It’s messy in the best way, the kind of record that feels like it could fall apart at any moment but never does. Songs like “Blister in the Sun” and “Add It Up” are obvious standouts, packed with attitude and the sort of hooks that get stuck in your head for days. There’s a sense of teenage frustration running through the whole thing, but it’s delivered with a wit and intensity that keep it from ever feeling whiny or one-note. Violent Femmes is one of those rare albums that captures youthful chaos perfectly. It’s scrappy, loud, and surprisingly clever, managing to sound both completely of its time and weirdly timeless at once.
Violent Femmes have scored a neurotic proto-folk punk masterpiece here. I think the unlikely ultra-success of Blister In The Sun gives some people the impression that Violent Femmes were something of a one hit wonder, but this whole album captures something pretty special that Violent Femmes could never quite recapture. Not that anyone would know, no one has ever listened to another Violent Femmes album. The punk songwriting and attitude across here combined with the jangly, almost percussive acoustic instrumentation here is a match made in Heaven. This manages to feel as much like folk music as it does punk. On top of this, Gordon Gano fills in the gaps with his amazing performances and distinct lyrics. His writing is direct and bitter, often painting a visceral portrait of a certain archetype of deeply pathetic man. It's like someone starts venting about a breakup and you slowly realize that they were the problem. And even the songs that escape from this kind of character retain the wiry, nervous energy. For example, Kiss Off reads as a rant about suicide by way of angsty, alienated, nervous implosion. Kiss Off, as well as Add It Up come across as downright manic, and I think they are where this album's strengths may be clearest. Like these both may be among my favorite songs ever. The rest of the album achieves the same goals, albeit ratcheted up a little less, and the results are usually great. Confessions, Prove My Love, Promise, To The Kill and, of course Blister In The Sun are my other favorites here. Among what's left, we still don't really have any duds. Gone Daddy Gone is defined by its xylophone playing, which is incredibly strong. Good Feeling isn't a favorite of mine, but ending the album on such a comparatively earnest song does a lot for the project as a whole. If I had to choose a least favorite, it's probably Please Do Not Go, which is basically a reggae song. It's honestly still pretty good, but my biggest complaints are with some line deliveries. Gano is damn near putting on a Jamaican accent for a couple lines. My problem isn't so much that it's problematic, which on some level it probably is, but it really does just sound unnatural and distracting out of his mouth. Regardless of a few gripes, this is a classic that really holds up. The anxiety coursing through this album is palpable and it is leveraged in such a way that it makes the material here incredibly compelling.
4/5 its really good
This is great. The songs are do catchy that the not so great musicianship and DIY aesthetic becomes a feature not a flaw. I always forget how much I like the Femme’s.
8/10
Good old punk rock. I loved it.
What a fun album.
8/10 Favourite: Blister in the Sun Least Favourite: Confessions
egentlig ganske nice - burde høre mer på
Good mood
Acoustic folk punk for sexually frustrated teens (or otherwise!). Cracking album, opens incredibly strongly with Blister In The Sun and Kiss Off. Gone Daddy Gone, Confessions and Add It Up are great tunes too. Good feeling ends the album on a solemn note with wonderful strings. The acoustic bass playing is strong throughout, providing a real sense of drive and melody. Love it.
Really enjoyed it, I can see why it was so popular in the 80s
Blister in the Sun has long been a favorite, but it's interesting how this album tells a story of teen desire, angst and fear of rejection that is so relatable, looking back.
Continue to enjoy whiny white guy music. Quality punk adjacent album. 4/5
Great album, catchy punk acoustic sounds. Short and sweet, no filler here. Blister in the sun and gone daddy gone are absolute classics.
So unique and fun. I really like the humour and am curious to listen again
Great album, so many popular songs, and a sound unique to the band. Open with a lot of space for each musician to shine. It can become a little grating over time, but it's a good one to put on every now and again for something different.
85/1001 :: Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes Heard before? ✅ Would I revisit? ✅ Rating: 8 Listen before you die: Yes This album is like the gateway drug to indie music. Fun, catchy, piss off, singalong songs make this a high school staple. Or at least it was when I was growing up. I feel like this album doesn’t get enough credit. I hear the Pixies now when I listen to it and bring it dropped in 83 I’m sure there are countless bands for whom it laid the groundwork. My only knock on this album is what makes it great. It’s a little childish, so once you graduate you don’t really go back to it other than throwing a song here and there on a mix tape. Lastly, I saw these cats in 98 play a small club in my hometown. A really fun show. What a time to be alive
Eh
I liked it, reminded me a bit of the moldy peaches, or probably where the moldy peaches got their inspiration from. The last track I found funny. Was a bit done with the songs by the end of the album.
I know this one! I would put this on the T1001 for longevity, hits, popularity/listen counts, radio impact and uniqueness. EVERYONE, even my teenagers, know "Blister In The Sun" and can sing along with it, it's still played in college bars. No one sounded or sounds like the Femmes! There's angst oozing from this album that you just can't make up. Instantly recognizable voice and sound. Yeah, it takes some time to get used to his voice/delivery. If this same album was released by the Beach Boys or someone mainstream tame it would have been a giant hit, the songs are solid. "Blister" alone has 310M listens! Throw in radio friendly tracks like, "Kiss Off" (43M), "Add It Up" (43M) and "Gone Daddy Gone" (30M) and you have a hit record. Factor in glue tracks/fan favs like "Please Do Not Go", "Prove My Love", & "Good Feeling" and it's an undeniably solid release. No song has under 3M listens. This is part of 80's lore and still sounds good today. 4 stars for sure.
A grower, not a shower
Fun!
I was sort of frantically packing while listening to this but my thoughts during that were: such hits at the front, I actually love these songs. Middle seemed a little monotonous… he seems sad. Last song Good Feeling made my ears perk. Need to save that and listen again.
At one point in high school, I realized that all these songs sounded like they were being sung by a massive loser, and as someone who was trying to stave off loserdom, it really hurt my enjoyment of it! Of course, now with more age and wisdom, I can recognize that this is one of the coolest sounding albums out there, and that overrides everything else. Not quite a 5 though, because "Confessions" is not a very good song, and it's way too long.
The Violent Femmes always seemed like one of those cool bands that you either got or didn’t. This first album is classic, combining folk, music, and punk and pretty much whatever the hell they want to do. The song Blister in the Sun has been used in so many movies that it almost felt like it took on a life of its own and I’m still not sure what it actually means. Gone Daddy Gone is also the first time I think I have ever heard a kickin’ xylophone solo in the middle of a punk song. I think my favorite track is Added Up simply because it has a really cool vibe to it. I had never listened to this full album until today. I think I’m finally cool enough to get it!
Random thoughts: * I enjoyed this quite a bit but I’ve also been familiar with this album for 30 years but hadn’t revisited in a long time. * 90s kids love the Violent Femmes. I’m not sure why Blister in the Sun was a staple of the 90s. Their song was also used in Reality Bites. Basically even though they are 80s I feel like they were more popular in the 90s. Maybe that is just a personal perception. * There are at least 4 really great songs on this album: Blister, Kiss Off, Add It Up, and Gone Daddy Gone. * I liked the bonus track Gimme the Car. * The bass player kicks ass! * very good album that should be heard.
The only way you might not have heard the music on this album, is if you have been living in a cave, situated in a remote jungle, towards the top of a mountain that can only be accessed by helicopter, with no electricity or contact with the outside world, for 42 years. Blister in the Sun is that ubiquitous. Kiss off and Gone Daddy Gone are not quite as common but can be found on fine Alternative Radio Stations throughout the world. The Violent Femmes eponymous debut is like that, full of catchy, quirky songs that not only captured the zeitgeist of the mid-1980s but somehow transcended the times to become pop culture icons. Unfortunately, this album is an example of lightning in a bottle, something unrepeatable. It's not that they never created another album; It's that they never created an album like this. That's the problem with creating something iconic - it's not repeatable. So, while one could argue the value of the Violent Femmes' subsequent albums, none reached the heights of quality of their debut. It was of the times and out of time. That's why it's special.
Such a great energy and fun songs. The singer really has an amazing presence in these songs. And the rhythm section of bass and drums are second to none.
Liked it! Surprise gone daddy gone original
One of the few albums I can remember where is was when i heard for the very first time.
Only knew Blisters in Sun previously which is stone cold classic. On first listen I found the rest of the album a bit meh- but its a real grower and by third listen I was onboard. Its not great to work to - but great in the car.
Blister in the Sun! Will carry any album on its own, but the other tunes and lyrics are infinitely catchy and quotable, though end up with the jitters and Gordon Gano's screech messing with your head by the end.
Very unique and modern sounding for 1983. I swear, this sounds like something out of the early 90's. Manages to keep a high energy while being firmly in the "folk" territory. The boy-who-wants-girl-but-can't-get-any lyrics are like some proto-Weezer stuff, but with a bit more finesse, thankfully. Key tracks: Blister in the Sun Kiss Off Gone Daddy Gone
It’s been a really long time since I’ve listened to this. It brought back memories of chilling outside with the porch jammer (an acoustic bass we kept in the mud room), smacking out Blister in the Sun over and over. That riff is so damned infectious. Next, I couldn’t believe I forgot Kiss Off is track two on here. I sing it all the time. (Sing it all the time). Rock out then to a few killer jams and you get to Gone Daddy Gone, and you’ve gone n got a classic album!
pretty sick
Love the live / primitive recording sound and how the imperfections make it so much better. Forgot how many low key hits are on there.
A little biased because I'm connected to Milwaukee, but yeah this album is a banger.
that was mostly quite enjoyable!
Classic, lots of good songs here.
Blast from the past. Still as good and as fresh.
Favorite tracks: Blister in the Sun, Gone Daddy Gone, Kiss Off I was really back and forth between 2 and 4 stars for this album. I really love their fast-paced songs, but their slow songs feel like a slog. They're just disjointed enough to be interesting, and I've come to really enjoy their unforgiving style and lyrics.
Very chaotic, but this time in a way I like. Blister in the sun and add it up are some all time angry songs, the rest are good too but I don't see myself seeking it out too often.
Insane bass work throughout this record and odd song structure. Swagger oozes from the vocalist.
Dang, this is great. This is punk as fuck. I had no idea this is over 40 years old. For some reason I thought it was more recent than that.
Sick xylophone solo bro. This fucking rules.
I really like the Violent Femmes. They keep me interested. I have been a run of subpar music for me was glad to get to an album where I was not just trying to get to the end. I remember this music growing up, not sure why I never owned the record.
A good, hard album. I could see this having a lot of fans among people who hated hair metal.
This album screams angst, sex obsessed, rebellious teenage male energy. Nothing musically complex here…just raw energy. It’s album that people will either love or hate and I fall squarely in the love camp.
Quirky, fun music
Blew me away this. At least 10 years ahead of its time in sound. Sounds raw and dangerous. Like Lou Reed fronting Weezer with lyrics by Kurt Cobain. Everyone has heard Blister In The Sun even if they don’t know the band but as a whole this is immense fair play.
I remember listening to this like 10-15 years ago and disliking it quite a bit aside from Blister in the Sun. This go around, now that I have a better appreciation for folk punk (AJJ, Harley Poe, and Stick and Poke), I'm enjoying this quite a bit more. Definitely seeing this band's influence on Harley Poe, just without the misanthropic murder folk vibes. So yeah, if you like Violent Femmes, you'll enjoy Harley Poe. Singer sounds similar too. I will say though, this album sounds shockingly ahead of time. It blew my mind this was released in 83. Production is great, clear, and this album could have easily released in the 2010s with no one thinking it was dated.
This was a surprise. I was expecting a more hardcore experience given the name. I like it and I recognise Blister In The Sun but I have no idea where from. One of the very few albums I have liked less on second listen. 3.5
Gran disco. Me parece bastante atípico. Como dice todo el mundo, esto es punk acústico, gente. Punk acústico. Es raro de pensar. Pero además, es un disco adelantadísimo. Hay canciones de este disco que me hacen acordar un poco al gran Billy Bragg, un músico contemporáneo; otras en las que el canto de Gano tiene una onda a un Syd Barrett (un poco más explosivo. Pero además el disco tiene cosas que parecen adelantadísimas. No sé si estoy loco o simplemente soy divertido, pero yo escucho en este disco cosas de bandas tan disímiles como los Smiths o de Pixies. Además las canciones son todas super pegadizas y atractivas. Y es un disco VARIADO. ¿Qué canción me gusta más? Difícil saber, porque las 10 canciones son buenas pero bastante parejas, y no es uno de esos discos que escuche constantemente y me sepa de pe a pa. Me puedo inclinar por la última canción, "Good Feeling", una balada excelentemente colocada al final. También me gustan las canciones más punkies, más rocanrolleras, como Add It Up o Blister in the Sun, pero son todas realmente muy buenas. Por ahí las que tienen un ritmo un poco más lento como Please Do not Go son un poco más pelotudas, pero es un disco excelente. Le pongo un 4, porque si bien todas las canciones me parecen muy buenas y como dije al principio, creo que es un disco que avisora el futuro, también me parece que es uno de esos discos que no son parte de mi, que nunca supe o pude apropiarme y los siento como un poco ajenos a mi vida.
piolita (4/5)
Não conhecia muito Violent Fammes, mas gostei bastante e diria que algumas músicas ouvirei novamente.
Hadn't listen for years! Forgotten just how addictively good these songs are
One of my very worn CDs from early high school, love it. I really enjoy the acoustic bass
Great album
Surprisingly good album. The band has such a different sound to almost every song it’s amazing
Cool. Reminds me of Pixies and Minutemen. I like the use of acoustic guitars in a punky way. It's got personality and a unique, unorthodox approach with good songs.
Favourite album of all time first up! 5/5 of course😉
Sinto que seria a soundtrack de um filme com adolescentes se aventurando no seu bairro pacato dos Estados Unidos
Need to listen to it once more to properly rate it
This is a difficult one to rate, because half of the album is certifiable bangers that are very fun. The other half of the album is fine, but fairly forgettable. I can listen to the bangers now and forever, but don't care at all about the others. So how do I rate an album like that? It's 3.5 if this project had half stars.
Big Patti Smith vibes. Some clash-esque punkyness maybe, and kind of drifts into a pixies-adjacent vibe occasionally. Sonically quite enjoyable with some nicely raw irreverent lyrics.
Cool indie
Solid
I kinda didnt like it at first but there IS something special about the album and its really hard to rate. I like weird songs like confessions. 3.5/5
🗣️LET ME GO OOOO-ON This album is so good, you can tell they had a lot of fun making it. It’s so rhythmic and catchy Fav songs: Blister In the Sun, Gone Daddy Gone
I've never heard the album before but I do know one or two songs. _Blister in the Sun_ in particular was a staple in early 90s alternative club scene and so much so, I thought that it was a 90s song! It wasn't until much later that I found out it was a decade old and it's taken me until now to actually listen to a whole album. This sounds very much ahead of its time, sounding like a sort of proto-alternative and you can very much hear the influence on bands that would come a decade later and throughout the 90s, even into the 2000s with sounds like folk punk, alt rock, college rock and even grunge and pop punk. There's several great tracks on here including _Kiss Off_, _Add it Up _, and _Good Feeling_ but it's hard to look past what has becoe an anthem of sorts and is my fave track… Blister in the Sun
Out of time. A nugget of many carats.
This album takes me back to when I was 15 in 1991… I remember listening to it with my hoodlum friends; feeling like I was breaking some unwritten rule of what I was/was not allowed to listen to (which didn’t actually exist). I miss that time… I wish I could talk to 15 year old me. Anyway, it’s a great record… but “Blister In The Sun” is completely played out.
My mom recommended me this years ago. Became significantly less interested when i found out there are no women in the band it was pretty good. folk punk is a cool genre
i was prepared to dislike this one, but much to my surprise, i enjoyed it. this is probably more of a 3.5, but what the hell, i'll round up. i'm also shocked at how modern (well, relatively) this sounds. maybe this is just a really good remaster? but i would've guessed late 90s just based on the sound. wow.
cool album with some solid tracks. feels like a pretty unique sound for the time period, which i DEFINITELY thought was the early 90s until a few days ago. maybe it's ahead of its time, or it just doesn't sound like anything else going on in popular music. the closest genre i can think of would be folk punk. (checks wikipedia) ok yeah they are 100% folk punk lol. favorites: blister in the sun, kiss off, add it up, prove my love, gone daddy gone, good feeling
I had "Add it up" growing up which I believe is a best off. There are many songs from there on this. Great album.
Who doesn't love Blister In The Sun? Rest of the album was good, but not near as great as that opener.
Gen X Roll Call! Quiet rage, sarcastic self-deprecation, kind of inappropriate, and a bit off-key. Good stuff.
Love the Femmes.
Old school punk
I'm a big Pixies fan and never really listened to Violent Femmes. Have to say that this feels like something that I'd been missing out on. It's grunge, it's surf rock, it's folk. It's a solid 40ish minutes of great music. It's why I listen to this list and I'm really pleased about it.
Good album, had heard it a long time ago, always forget to put it on, lead track is a mainstay in just about every playlist on my Spotify TBF.
How did I miss this album. Didn't know there was a genre for acoustic folk-punk. I like it.
Turns out I have liked Violent Femmes for years, since 1997 probably as that is when Grosse Point Blank was released. I love that movie and I love “Blister in the Sun” which features in the soundtrack. Thing is, I never went beyond that, and I have to look the band’s name every time I hear the song. “Blister…” is the opener and the best song on here but it is a really good album. Acoustic punk, delivered in a busker fashion. There is a lot of space in the arrangements and the sound is really clear. You can hear the acoustic guitar (and yes there are some electrics on here too), the crack of the snare drum, the click of the individual strings on the upright bass (one on the great revelations), all topped by Gordon Gano’s fragile, quivering, shaky vocals. I really enjoyed this. Unusual stuff.
Not my cup of tea, again. Do people genuinely like this kind of music?
Just so much better than all of the similar stuff being put out in this era. Like, leagues apart.
Their debut album. Acoustic Punk !? Ha ! And a Xylophone. Blister In The Sun - Classic opening track. This sounds like an album from 1993 not 1983. Kind of ahead of it's time. Add It Up - liked this one. Very Punky. This album is a great expression of teenage angst and frustration. Very alternative given the 'synth pop' of the time. This.predates the slacker, Gen X, Grunge, Fuck You movement that was to come.
Blister in the sun is a perfect song. Some other good things on this one too
Good album, solid early 80’s music definitely in my wheelhouse.
Enjoyed revisiting an oldie but a goodie
-blister in the sun
Very nostalgic! Also a lot of noisy songs :)
I've always loved Violent Femmes
Fav songs: Add It Up; Gone Daddy Gone "Blister in the Sun" is fine but overplayed. I saw VF in concert in college. It was the mid '90s so they were already washed up. The angriest acoustic band ever. I hope they have found peace. And got laid.
Ahead of its time.
although different to what i listen to, it somehow feels very familiar. obviously there’s some songs of theirs i’ve heard from them, but even then i felt a familiar feeling.
Really enjoyed this one and will come back to it. Full of energetic quirky songs and great (acoustic?) bass sound.
In 1983, when my cousins from Wisconsin visited and let me have their dubbed tape of this record, it was like this strange funny angsty world opened up. Acoustic punk plus teenage romanticism and naivety caving in to sex and death and drugs and rage--but in a good way. Wore the tape out. Bought my own. And I still love the violin solo on Good Feeling.
I could easily see myself not liking the almost spoken style of the singer, but actually it gave it some kind of charm. Good baking soundtrack
Underrated album. Chock full of jams
Very forward-thinking and ahead of its time for sure. Honed the acoustic vibes that would go on to influence 90's and 00's indie rock. Best tracks: Please Do Not Go, Add it up (shout-out T.H.U.G 2 soundtrack), To The Kill
Super super fun. Feels ahead of its time kinda like something u could see at a house show in Boston lmao. Last song was beautiful
Weird voice and rag tag sound is how I just described them to Gideon and I like it a lot. Almost 5 but I gotta be pickier and there were some songs that were weaker.
Set up a generation for intro to alternative and indie music.
começou blister in the sun e fui acometido por súbita nostalgia (novamente) esse é bão
ou blister in the sun eh BOA DEMAIS gostei muito mais do resto do album do que das primeiras vezes que ouvi, inclusive. o início do folk punk que não eh mto pra mim mas eh apreciável!!
I absolutely love the "heaviness" they create without loud drums/cymbals or heavy guitars, it's really clever and sounds sooo cool. My closest album to a 5 so far but not quite every song was super.
i don't remember caring about this much when it came out, but why do I know all the lyrics to all the songs by heart? Most perplexing.
Me gusta mucho el estilo de esta banda, como para escuchar mientras haces el desayuno un domingo donde ya no tenes parciales, tenes a tu gente cerca y feliz, tus mishis se están estirando con las patitas para adelante esperando que le rellenes el tarro de comida.
Me gusto bastante, seguimos con la onda ochentera
Para escuchar jugando al Tony Hawk teniendo 8 años Asi que lo voy a escuchar jugando al remaster del Tony Hawk Me gutó
Violent Femmes's singer has that midwestern vocal fry that I've come to love in Modern Baseball's Jake Ewald and the group have the sonic stylings of Iceage (this album gave me Plowing Into The Field of Love vibes). This is clearly the precursor to shit that I REALLY love. 4/5
A solid record. Simple, but fun and often wacky or silly which I always appreciate. 7/10
A good album. Have been aware of a few of the tracks for years but never listened to the entire album. Blister in the sun is still awesome though.
A lot of similar feelings right now
I need to spend more time with this album but it’s definitely my wheelhouse
Great album. Feels like they could have been a big influence on the Pixies, and if so thank you for your service. I feel like Violent Femmes are a band that I forget about, but I’m always pleasantly surprised by their deeper catalog when I give them a spin. Maybe a slight victim of overplaying on their bigger hits, although the hits are still great. Really just a fun album all the way through. 9/10
Solid album really portrays that teenage angst well
I... like it? The music and singing are "not good", but that only makes it better
30/06/2025 I didn't know what to make of this album when it came up, it was alright.
Incredible album!
Very decent. Low-fi. Reminds me a bit of Pavement. Would listen again.
such a great album. I didn’t know a lot of the songs, but they were all awesome. When you start your first album with “blister in the sun”, you know you’ve got a great album.
Legend
Really fun and angsty, loved the vocals in particular. It’s in the most part pretty straightforward with its lyrics but that’s also why I like it. But imagine my surprise when I found out that there’s no femmes in the band violent femmes
Enjoyed this. Never heard of this band, but the first song was familiar. Different and definitely something that deserves to be on the list.
How have I never listened to these guys more. This is pure genius
It has that cliche rock N roll nostalgia feel while also having that folk tinge to it that makes it feel unique.
Kicking off with Blister in the Sun! Wow!
Good one
Really interesting lyrics and message. pretty funny. really good music
Great album! Very good songs and it was all pretty much what you would want to hear From the violent femmes!
Ahh! So violent my ears are bleeeding. 😐 Rhcp but they’re not as excited or maybe more excited
A laugh riot. Some of these lyrics are flying a little too close to the sun (this is going on your permanent record, dont be distressed, im impressed!), the angst can be overwhelming and I really should hate the nasally whine of the singer's voice, but these things totally work together when arranged just so. In that way it reminds me of The Flaming Lips. Good stuff.
Yesterday I bemoaned Chvrch=@#s inability to put out anything of substance using all the gear money can buy. Today Violent Femmes turn up to prove my point, gutting every bit of heartache and emotion, every ounce of rock’n’roll, punk, rockabilly, surf, blues, country and folk rock spirit out of what sounds like a load of broken jug band instruments recorded on a potato. This unassuming album doesn’t look like much at first, but it will take you on a massive journey.
Post punk via Lou Reed
I hope every young music fan still has a Violent Femmes phase. And grows right out of it.
3.5 round up
Classic, good mood, i like it
I wasn’t familiar with any songs except Blister in the Sun but really enjoyed the album, adding 8 of the 12 tracks to my favorites playlist. 4.5 rounded down.
Topp!
Way better than I was expecting. 4 stars, but could go higher on relistens.
Great album! Blister in the Sun was well known, but everything else sounded fresh to me. Excited to listen again. 8/10
This album is super cool and unique. Enjoyed t more than I expected