Dikes of Holland
Braindead USA (Screamers Records)
Reviewed by Chase Hoffberger, Fri., Aug. 17, 2012
Dikes of Holland
Braindead USA (Screamers Records)The more things change, the more they stay the same. Dikes of Holland's second full-length crashes with a chaotic uniformity that leaves the psychobilly blues pervading 2010's eponymous debut deep in the Braindead dust. Gone is Chris Stephenson's fun house ("Zealand") and producer John Paul Bohon's garage ("I've Brothers Everywhere"), but where a more precise live representation prevails, Liz Herrera triumphs. The firecracker frontwoman, mere seasoning on 2010's songwriting soufflé, is now as integral in the studio as she is onstage. She factors mightily into the LP's lyrical attack, taking the lead on "City Feet" and "Meat Eaters," while otherwise wreaking havoc on the boys' "Rotten Taste," "Kinky Parents," and "Dirty San Franciscan." So do the drums on "UFT" and "Future Eyes," two songs that, like the rest of Braindead USA, should spark a massive attack when the Dikes of Holland step to the spotlight.
