New Vagina Panther

There comes an odd time in a man's life when you get a phone call from a trusted friend to go see some mutual friends play in their new band. This happened a year or so ago when a dear friend (as well as 50% of JS-NYC readership and formidable beard farmer) Rut called and said I had to see Vagina Panther. I'll be the first to remind you that I'm kind of a douchebag, but the trifecta of Brooklyn, Trash Bar and the name Vagina Panther is not liable to take me out of my usual homebound schedule of MP3 pliferage and herbal-induced bile spewing. That said, Rut has better than average tastes, so on the bike I went and had my ass rocked in a pronounced fashion.

If you are a prude, the lady and men of Vagina Panther are probably not going to getting a lot of spins. Start with the name, add a cover with a post-modern lactating breast and have a logo featuring a priapic unicorn and you might think VP are the second coming of The Mentors with a Williamsburg spin. Blessedly to these ears, you would be very wrong. Vagina Panther is a great fucking record, both literally and figuratively, full of a sexy swagger that is hard to ignore. The good ship Vagina Panther is helmed by the diminutive dynamo that is Dead June. To look at her, you might doubt social morays revolving around necrophilia and surmise that some Haitian Vodun has been harnessed, as she tears up the record from the opening number to note last. The band is tight as hell, providing quite the foundation for June's Chrissie Hynde meets Poly Styrene vocalizing and no doubt setting many an ass to shaking. I'm pretty impressed all around. The songs and band are great, but huge kudos and boxes of donuts should go to producer Mario McNulty for his work on Vagina Panther. This record is definitely one of the best sounding records I've heard all year. It's not rocket surgery: good songs and good production equal great records. If there is any justice in this world, Vagina Panther will depose boring dreck like Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and get this fearsome fivesome a lot of notice. They debuted at 156 on the CMJ 200 and evidently have a video coming down the pike soon. Safe money is on it not being watchable at work. While you're waiting, pop on over the VP lair and keep track of all things Vagina Panther here.