The Drunk Nuns – “The Winchester LP”
When I first received this CD I was very excited as we only have one other all-girl band, Damn Broads, on our site. And though these Nuns are all virgins, having given their bodies to the lord (unlike the priests who save theirs for the altar boys), they do imbibe in alcohol, so it seems they do know how to have a good time.
Wait a minute…. they’re all guys, meaning they all have balls. If they were guys without them they could still be an indie band but this is punk rock. Damn, I’ve been meaning to ask Andy how to erase things on word so I guess I’ll have to leave the last paragraph in. I hate looking foolish!
Well, now that we’ve discussed the Drunk Nuns music at great length. Where is the goddamn erase button! I wish I could just take a pencil and write on this screen.
So the Drunk Nuns, who are not women, not nuns, but in fact, non-drinking straight edge Episcopalians…Wait, wrong again- Eraser button?
The Drunk Nuns play punk rock without a hint of hardcore and fall in-between pop/punk and punk’n’roll. They have energetic tunes that never slide into past the speed of sound hardcore and rough vocals that do glide into melodic choruses at times along with stuttering, chugging chords and chiming guitar lines. But the guitars are too gritty and the vocals too tough to ever fall into bland land. So let’s check some tunes out.
“What Now” starts with a high pitched staccato guitar and a churning rhythm before the vocals kick in along with a bending, exhaling guitar lick that ends with a sprawling chord. Well, what now? Well, the song grooves along nicely until a nice solo pops in that’s a cross between The Buzzcocks and Johnny Thunders. “I drank my last beer an hour ago…theirs stains on my soul but I can’t seem to wash them down…what now are we supposed to do when ambitions fade away? There’s nothing left but memories past and ideals of yesterday. What now?”
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/01 – What Now.mp3|titles=What Now]
A chugging stop and go guitar leads “The Boys” off into a verse that eventually takes us to a melodic chorus with haunting background vocals floating in. Some more hopeful lyrics with: “God damn this purgatory/ There is no more hope and glory/ We just pass the days away/ Broken hearts and bullshit lies/ Another year of compromise/ Is this how it’s supposed to be?” The music belies the sentiment with another good guitar display.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/03 – The Boys.mp3|titles=The Boys]
“Tell Me” leaps out of the speakers with a chiming, harmonic guitar lick and an energetic beat with lyrics that differ from the other songs. Really? Well, no they don’t- more lyrics about failure within yourself and with life itself. “The dull pain resonates…soon we’ll come crashing to the ground.” But wait- “I know I won’t give up the fight/ With time to mend I’ll be alright…I’m doing fine. Yeah, I’m doing fine.” Hooray!
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/04 – Tell Me.mp3|titles=Tell Me]
A fast guitar lick and chord starts off this song the title which I don’t know. No, erase that it’s “We Don’t Know.” I’m so self-centered. So a grinding verse gives way to a resigned chorus, there is a part later that comes in and offer more spite with the guitar chugging along. And then it’s taken out with a ringing guitar lick and these lyrics: “When it’s all been said and done/ I know I won’t be saved/ Another broken parable/ But at least I’ll take the blame/ I’ll ask this world a question/ As I try to prove myself/ Who’s begging for forgiveness/ When we can’t forgive ourselves.”
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/12 – We Dont Know.mp3|titles=We Dont Know]
The Drunk Nuns remind me of several bands I like- The McGunks here, The Outlets there, The Doll Eyes over there- but all and all they go down a path a little different than most bands on our site and are successful in turning out a great CD. Good songs, excellent guitar and great lyrics. And yes, a lot about drinking and religion- Had a few, he was feeling reckless…Yeah, he’s shouting from the pulpit…You’ve had too many drinks but you have to have one more…Genesis and genocide; before the ones already mentioned.
I haven’t seen them live but they’re playing the Midway June 8. I hope to catch them then and have one too many.
(Slimedog)
