It feels slightly unfair to compare any band that has been around as long as Violent Femmes’ to their heyday, but in ‘We Can Do Anything’, there are moments of genuine brilliance, divided up by a small amount of filler.
After releasing a relatively promising ‘Happy New Year’ EP last year, there’s been some anticipation brewing within both older and newer fans. Luckily, ‘We Can Do Anything’ delivers on this promise, albeit a little light on the sassy punk pragmatics of ‘The Blind Leading The Naked’.
Rather than relying on the youthful promiscuity that made Violent Femmes a cult band, singer-songwriter Gordan Gano has focussed more heavily on the monotonous mundanity of the regular mans lifestyle following the bands numerous breakups. He speaks about the vague and repetitive day-to-day (‘Foothills’), the wanderlust inspired by frustration (‘Travelling Solves Everything’) and the all-too-familiar feeling of failed relationships (‘Untrue Love’). The lo-fi style has survived the break and makes these small offerings of story-telling more humorous and endearing than anything released previously. The second track on the album, ‘I Could Be Anything’, is the most entertaining moment of the record, relying more heavily on the theatrical folk story-telling apparent in older songs like ‘Old Mother Reagan’. Lyrics like “My name is Bongo and I may be small / But I am the bravest man of them all.” forces listeners to focus lyrically, something that remains throughout the ten-track release.
Sadly, the pace of the album drops towards the latter half. Whilst this could be explained by the recurring mix of both positivity and negativity, this more droll and depressive sound comes off as an exhausted forfeit into the regular man’s lifestyle. However, this theory is juxtaposed by the final song, titled ‘I’m Not Done’. This conclusive and short song amalgamates the eclectic instrumentation of the record with Gano’s honest song-writing.
This record comes as a charming surprise and offers something that Violent Femmes fans will either hate or love. The lo-fi playing style and punk spirit is ever-present, despite an alternative instrumentation, creating a record more reminiscent of the bands roots.
MAX GAYLER