Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby

I tried to convince myself this wasn’t that bad by thinking, “It’s kind of like The Jesus Lizard, I guess” but really this reminded me of nothing so much as Bush. So fuck this. I didn’t like this kind of shit when I was an angry young man, so I’m certainly not going to like it now that I’m a bitter, grouchy tired old man.

There are far more "post-hardcore" albums here than quality, influence, popularity, depth etc demand. I guess the author just liked the scene at the time. This wasn't a bad album by any means, but it *was* unremarkable. 3/5.

Wikepedia gives the genre as "Post-Hardcore, Indie Rock, Noise Rock" - of these "Noise Rock" seems to be the most appropriate for this truly depressing album. The album's only claim to fame that I can see seems to be that one of the tracks, "Bulletproof Cupid", was used in the "Need for Speed: The Run" video game soundtrack. Not sure how this got into the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list?

Wow. This one was easy to rate.

It's post-hardcore, so every song sounds heavy, and the vocals are scratchy and mono-tone. It all sounds a bit dated. If the vocals were better, the songs might have held up.

Interesting choice. The girl I sat next to in French and whom I fancied to a horrendous degree, liked these and so naturally I tried to get into them (no jokes, you dirty minded folk). I failed to, but she lent me a load of vinyl including the first Hole record, some Babes in Toyland and Bikini Kill. Probably some other stuff but I loved all that. Girls Against Boys then. Interesting choice in that said girl is pretty much the only person I can recall ever talking about this band, hence my mind being immediately drawn there. Listening 30 years later I'm hearing hints of Kyuss maybe, and of course their own influences. There's a lot going on here and I'm not sure why I didn't get into them at the time. Noise but with melody is right up my zone of interest. This has really got something. Slow or fast, it drills into you.

Really liked this one, saved for future listening

Not my genre of music, but this band nailed it. Was actually quite good

Dark, edgy, and fucking cool. Never heard this band before but it's great.

Nothing extraordinary about this album.

Heard about this band, never listened to any albums or songs. Really good. Really, really good.

Let’s be honest, I am totally biased when it comes to this type of bands. The DIY musical movement has my heart and soul, so my opinion is going to exaggerate their pros while omitting their misses. Loved this album from start to finish. Lots of energy thrusted by great vocals and dual bass work. 100% recommended if you are into Fugazi and Dillinger Escape Plan

Horrid, horrid indie. I'm done with this shit. Really can't listen to this sort of crap these days.

Amateur Dentistry, the Musical.

Completely utterly worthless

They have a heavy sound that leads nowhere, in my opinion. Nothing terribly exciting or above average with their sound and really a second tier hard rock/metal/grindcore/hardcore band. Okay, but far from essential.

Never heard of these folks. This was a fun enough listen, although nothing revelatory. I'm sure there are a bunch of more exciting post-hardcore bands that shoulda made the cut before this, but thems the breaks! Fave track - "Go Be Delighted"

I had never heard of Girls Against Boys before, but this was a really great sound and I enjoyed the hell out of it. The genre was pretty close to right up my alley and I really dug it. Lots of melodic crunchy guitars, cool aloof vocals and just a loud, funky sound that I loved. I listened to it twice -- five stars.

Pretty good. Dark, viberatie music.

One of my favorite bands.

Ooh, guess I'm only the third person to review this! A nice and much-needed heavier rock album to grab my attention for a bit. It absolutely slaps! Definitely sounds newer than 1993, too. This is one that's totally new for me, but I found myself liking it a lot. Favourite: Let Me Come Back

I liked this. Very 90s, but in a good way. Will listen again.

Me surpreendeu positivamente, esperava nada e veio coisa boa.

There’s cool, there’s New York cool and then there’s GvsB, dual-bass, New York cool! 😎 One of my favourite bands when I was at Uni and I only wish I was half as cool as them. Their two albums subsequent to this one were their best and combined better songwriting and production (same producer mind!) with their trademark swagger. This one suffers from muddy production, where the vocals are somewhat lost and the sound too uniform. There are great songs here, and In Like Flynn, Rockets are Red, and Bulletproof Cupid all making it to set lists. Slightly baffling that this album is selected for the list at the expense of others, but I will rate it based on the band as a whole. Cool as fuck!

Honestly the fist time I’ve heard this, had this band on my list of post-hardcore bands to check out… They just weren’t high on that list and their name sounds uninspired. This album is great, Ted Niceley sound is on point, fits right in with the early Fugazi albums.

Dude!! Now this is my type of jam!! Only 3 tracks in and it's already got a 5 star rating as far as I'm concerned.

This is the kind of grunge I can get behind. A little thin, my opinion a bit inflated by intrigue about the band, there's more than a little bit of romance.

I have nothing against this album in particular, it kinda just sounds like less creative but less abrasive Sonic Youth. But I am a bit annoyed that all that Wikipedia can say about this album is that one of its songs appeared in a Need For Speed game. Did we realllllllly need to listen to it? 5/10

Listened to this 2 days ago. Can’t remember a thing.

Listened to this while cleaning. I'd rather have been playing a board game...but life isn't always fun and games. For some reason I had heard of Girls Against Boys before...but I'm not totally sure why. Maybe Hedwig and the Angry Inch...but that doesn't seem right. The album was kind of standard early 90s indie rock. Some great riffs here and there...but why this was selected over like 50 other equally good albums from the same time period...I'm not sure? I didn't dislike it...but it wasn't as strong as some of the other albums I've rated a 3...so this gets a 2. The girls won.

This guy smokes a lot of cigarettes, looks like someone from Smashmouth, and would beat their wife if they could ever get one. This is bad

Totally uninspiring 90's twaddle. There were ahundeed band producing this kind of rubbish in the 90's this is just another one. Didn't hear of them at the time and not to be heard of since.

In a day when alt rock was huge, there’s no wonder this one never became a hit. No good

Atrocious singing. Dung beetles wouldn't even want this crap.

Not a fan at all.

Indie shit

Just painful. Angry adolescent noise. (Having said that, I'd probably have been really into this when I was about 15.)

9/10… rock-metal / indie

Definitely enjoyed. Added some songs to my playlist

Cool post-hardcore that I've never heard before

This is pretty cool, sometimes reminded me of Queens of the Stone Age, other times RATM. Let me come back reminded me of “do the evolution” by pearl jam

First one I’d never heard before, really solid. Could see this being inspo for a lot of groups.

Well, I loved this. It's hard and heavy, but it's melodic and smartly atonal at the right times and in the right ways. The double-bass approach sings, grinds, thrums. The vocals and lyrics are subdued and strong. A few degrees to either side on any of this, and it wouldn't work for me. But I was bobbing my head and digging the groove - crucially, it shakes its ass, which is all but a requirement for my musical taste. This is way out of my wheelhouse, and I dig it.

Solid 90s rock. Not much to say about it.

Ooh, a highly-hyped '90s band I never actually heard! Bet it's terrible. And.. it's actually not! I would have wagered on either a grungified-Lemonheads or (shudder) Nancy Boy but instead got some good heavy riffing and propulsive grunting. Not sure it needed two bass players, but diverting nonetheless.

I mean, I’d put “Ride The Fader” by Chavez on the list over this (it’s a classic), but Venus Luxure No. 1 was pretty good, even though it isn’t a record you really need to hear before you die.

Album #16 Another band/album that I was not familiar with. From the get go, there is a clear garage/indie vibe with a very unique sound. I was wondering if the mixing was off because how the bass sounded (loud and rough), but it turns out that there were two bassists playing - neat! The vibe that it gave me was very early 90s grimy garage rock or even a post-hardcore sound. I digged this album, but it wasn't jaw dropping. I can't place any standout tracks and the lyrics, assuming you can make them out, aren't memorable. A generous 3*

There are 2 types of songs on this album and one is basically just a slowed down version of the other. The songs otherwise just all sound the same. Drudging nothingness rock

The music has a certain basic appeal without being particularly notable which would make it a decent blank canvas for a strong vocal performance, a raft of cool melodies, or wildly entertaining lyrics or all three. It wouldn’t need to be a technically gifted singer (though that could work) but unfortunately the vocals on this album instead try to hid in the murk and seem to be avoiding a tune and certainly have nothing of interest to say to the world. It needs an Iggy Pop or a Dave Lee Roth or a St. Vincent, something a with personality. As it is, I don’t love the music enough to want to bother trying to overlook the net negative of the vocals in an attempt to get on board.

I’ve never heard of this group. And after listening I’m certain that I won’t remember their whisper mumble screaming set to half decent music.

Maybe I didn't give this enough proper attention, but it just felt a mediocre college garage band version of Nine Inch Nails. I couldn't understand much of what he was saying, and there wasn't a single song that drew me in.

Carrying notes of trenchcoat-teenage tough guy, this doesn’t rock hard, carry strong melodies, or have an enlivening touch of otherness. The two-bass set-up earns a nod, though the execution is agitated porridge.

dull

Not very interesting. Nothing stood out on the album. 2/5 Won't listen again

I like the rawness of this but there is nothing to look forward too. No riffs, no breakdowns, no moments of feeling anything really. In the end it all just melts togeather.

I looked at myself in the mirror, realized I didn't have a lip piercing, eye makeup or a long history of posting RAWR XD on anyone's Facebook wall and knew this one wouldn't be for me. If you're going to make really bad emo music, at least be really good at guitar or drums or something. Melt my face with an over the top solo, make me feels something other than angsty.

Ugh. Really did not like the vocals. Did not make it through the album.

Difficult to listen to

Nope.

LAME

maybe 2 stars, but c couldn’t take any much more than the first two tracks and turned it off

Never heard of them, and there’s nothing on here that hasn’t been done better by countless others.

Argh! More mindless American c*ap!

Boring

täyttä paskaa

It’s probably one of my least favourite on this whole list. for all my ambivalence towards fellow post-hardcore outfit Slint, at least they had menace & theatre going for them. This just plods… In theory, twin bass guitars should provide a unique twist but it gets really muddy and monotonous. Speaking of monotonous, I was worn out on the singer’s rasp after two songs. HL: “Bullet Proof Cupid”, “7 Seas” May 22, 2024

the reviews for this album sum up my views pretty well "... unremarkable, nothing extraordinary, not sure how this got into the list, completely utterly worthless"

Talk about repetitive. They choose 1 or 2 notes and then just drone that for the whole song while the singer grunts barely audibly into the microphone. Just bad. No standout song, not even a standout moment.

This is what I think of when I think of a rock album

Great album! It has a lot of energy.

Nostalgia

very shocked at all the low reviews on here. yes there's better hardcore bands and better hardcore albums but that doesn't detract from the quality of this album. i thought this was great, i loved the sharp sort of guitars (reminded me of some early post-punk stuff in a way), loved the vocals, honestly i thought this was great all around. i think maybe this should be a 4.5 not a 5 but i'm upping it just because i thought this wasn't going to be anything special at first and was proven wrong. will definitely be listening to this again

Never heard this album or band before, not sure how on earth I missed these guys, I thought it would be a 4 with the intention to seek a physical copy and add to playlists, but this really is a great discovery and a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by the end, exactly why I'm here

90’s Alternative Rock ⭐️Satin Down

Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby was an album that i actually enjoyed a lot. I always love this kind of rock where it may not be metal or even hard rock but still has this air of heaviness to it which still makes it hit incredibly hard and that is probably one of the types of indie rock that i enjoy the most. The musicianship here was just absolutely great with particular shout outs to both the guitarist and the bassist who are the big heavy hitters of this album. Not everything about this album is perfect as there are some issues with the production, mainly the vocals which feel like they get drowned out by the music which is why it can only get a 4.5 but i still ended up loving this one. Best Song: Rockets Are Red Worst Song: Get Down

Brilliant post-hardcore noise rock, sounds more like McLusky than any other band I can think of. Great riffs made to sound really messy and abrasive, love it. Rockets are red stood out the most, need to give it another listen to pick some more favourites which will happen in the near future.

I'm not normally a noise rock fan, but I dont think this is a normal noise rock album. Super coherent lyrics, and nice and loud. Bullet Proof Cupid was the standout, but thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. Despite no other songs particularly gripping me, a solid 5. Listened twice - got me mega amped up, wanted to punch through a wall by the end of the second go-around.

Dødsfett! Kan ikke tro jeg ikke har hørt om disse før. Minner meg om QOTSA og hører til og med noe slipknot inni der! Dette glir rett inn i musikk jeg kommer til å høre på !

I guess this means their followup Cruise Yourself is 6 stars

truely outstanding

Zuhause, Heidenheim, Deutschland. Sehr feine Klangmusik.

Never heard of this band before but just loved the album. High energy, catchy riffs, a bit of an attitude. What more can you ask for? I could imagine watching these guys live in some sweaty beer barn, pouring down a few beers and trying to look cooler than I am…

Nice

This album is one of the main reasons I am doing this journey of the 1001 albums. I had never heard about this band, I had never heard any of their songs. But what a discovery. Great, loud, powerful rock.

New to me band and album. If I had seen this back then I'm sure I would've passed on it because the band name is dumb as fuck, and the equally clunky album title wouldn't have helped. I like the distorted bass sounds on this album. Solid.

I cant believe I have never heard of this band. This is Ace!

Girls against boys started as a side project started by Brandon Canty the drummer for Fugazi. Brandon Cantù is the It has a darker feel. It also features Scott McCloud, a member of one of my favorite all time bands Soul Side. This is the first time I listened to Girls against Boys. I really dig the sound of “Girls against boys”, it has those dirty guitar licks I love, the deep resonating vocals, and an ethic of let’s kick ass (punk rock). I would listen to this album to break things up. This is there sophomore effort. I can hear the sonic rumble I love in soul side and other bands like them on Discord. This album was released on “touch and go”! A five for daring to be that band that brings the noise to focused harmony. A five star album to me must have a guttural reaction, it can’t be considered that’s “nice”. It must either be considered great by some and others think it’s horrid. The diverse ratings shows that you have to have a reaction to the album. As a teacher once said sitting on a fence post create a mighty wedge. This album does not sit on a fence post.

This album is like drinking battery acid from a martini glass while someone smokes clove cigarettes in your bathroom. It’s sleazy, hypnotic, and somehow cooler than you without even trying. Post-hardcore got drunk, put on leather, and found a second bass player. That’s the vibe. Dual bass lines slither underneath Scott McCloud’s vocals like subway rats in a knife fight—always lurking, occasionally poetic, and definitely not here for your comfort. Rating: 4.3/5 Short Review: A filthy groove machine that swaggers, sneers, and sounds like it has absolutely no respect for your playlist. Favorite Track: “Rockets Are Red” – sounds like someone slow-dancing with an oil rig while plotting revenge.

Oh wow. This band has been popping up on my You Might Also Like lists for years now, but I've never listened to them before today. What a mistake! From the first bass riff, I was hooked. I love the low end-heavy sound of two basses, and the drums somehow match that sound. The lead singer is sneering and hoarse sounding all at once, and I love that, too. I listened to this three times in a row and then moved on to later albums. Adding yet another band to my usual rotation.

Solid rock no flaws.

I had a vague awareness of these guys from the "Series 7: The Contenders" soundtrack, but this is totally the kind of stuff I would have loved at the time. Why is Washington DC so interesting musically?

I have to give this album 5 stars, as it is by one of my favorite bands ever, one of my favorite "genres," and it represents a musical approach very underrepresented on this list - that of American independent bands that were intent on making something fresh, challenging, and didn't care about success or popularity. It's always hard for me to pick a favorite album by Girls Against Boys. It probably is not this one, but they made a few albums that all compete, including this one.

moody, dark, heavy. Genau meins.

I was tempted to 4.5 or 4 star this from band name along (I wish this group is all women) but I really enjoy the vibes

super drugged out post-hardcore, feels like the musical equivalent of waking up from a 4 hour long nap where it results in you fucking up your sense of time for the rest of the day

Another exceptional grunge album, nice to listen before the work. I think Alice in the Chains was more impactful but I had lower expectations. Only objective way of comparison is listening to both albums lying on floor on the verge of OD from heroin. Mayby i will try that later.

Wanted to start it back up as soon as it was over

That was probably my favourite indie rock album on this list. I was honestly so surprised how well it sounded from start to finish. No need to pick a single from this record, just try a song at random, it will be amazing. I have never heard of Girls Against Boys before, but after listening to this album I will have to go on a little binge-listening session. I'm very impressed, new vinyl goes to the collection.

That was so good

5/5