WHO ARE THEY? A ferocious garage-punk power trio hailing from Bern, Switzerland (of all places), The Jackets are fronted by mascara-loving female singer-guitarist Jack Torera — and deservedly endorsed by celebrities and tastemakers like Alice Cooper, Rodney Bingenheimer and Little Steven.
WHAT IS THIS? Their fourth collection of throwback basement-band nuggets loaded with thumping crash-bash drums, razor-slash guitar licks and high-powered vocals — all produced by garage-rock royalty King Khan and mixed by Detroit indie vet Jim Diamond.
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? Thanks to Torera’s booming pipes and the band’s searing, hotwired energy, Queen of the Pill comes off a little like Karen O fronting a steroid-jacked reunion of The Seeds — with Jack White on guitar.
WHAT WOULD BE A BETTER TITLE FOR THIS ALBUM? Open Up and Swallow.
HOW SHOULD I LISTEN TO IT? On vinyl. Ideally, a series of coloured 45s with picture sleeves. Failing that, on a cassette playing through your car stereo or jammed permanently in a broken beatbox.
WHAT 10 WORDS DESCRIBE IT? Fuzzy, fiery, ramshackle, adrenalized, messy, brash, aggressive, swaggering, irrepressible, crackling.
WHAT ARE THE BEST SONGS? I’m partial to firecrackers like Loser’s Lullaby and Be Myself, but really, you can’t go wrong — the 10-track set is a rock-solid blast from the gutter-punk past.
WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY SAY? ‘It’s over already?’
HOW OFTEN WILL I LISTEN TO THIS? If it’s good enough for Alice and Little Steven, it oughta be good enough for you.
IF THIS ALBUM WERE A DANCE, WHAT KIND OF DANCE WOULD IT BE? The Dirty Dog.
SHOULD I BUY, STREAM OR STEAL? Take your medicine.
