Vain
All Those Strangers (Jackie Rainbow)
Reviewed by Raoul Hernandez, Fri., June 18, 2010
Vain
All Those Strangers (Jackie Rainbow)Shelved Island Records' follow-up to these metallic San Francisco dolls' 1989 debut, No Respect, initially came on like a comedown from its fast, trashy birth mother (thanks for the tape, Davy Vain), but upon release now proves no slump. Heart adrenal "Love Drug" races first, "Planet's Turning" and "Shooting Star" pound chest cavities next, and "Freak Flag" flies a glam anthem as doomed as Mother Love Bone. Sensitivity training ("Shouldn't Cry") and a walk-off spasm ("Looking Glass") earn No Respect.
