Dave Chamberlain

Not exactly a typical opener for Ms. Peaches and her electrophile, much discussed and publicized pussy, but you've got to love an unlikely combination like this. A seventies stadium metal band that calls Austin, Texas, home, Young Heart Attack come across like an amalgamation of every pre-thrash, denim-wearing dirtbag's dreams. Referencing everything from Thin Lizzy to AC/DC to The MC5, this six-piece's "Mouthful of Love" swings at the jaw like The Darkness on better drugs. And then there's the kicker: dueling, male-female vocals that, against all odds, works. The title track, filled with mini-guitar wanks and a driving "Back in Black" bridge, exhibits a battle between Chris Hodge's best Bon Scott howl and Jennifer Stevens' thrust of Heart. "Mouthful" never lets up with this type of contradictory but enjoyable battles, hitting its most modern and wicked crescendo on "El Camino," a track driven by an early ZZ Top grit, a Pink Floyd trip in the middle and an opening bridge that sounds like the inspiration for everything Metallica ever did. I have a hard time seeing fans of Peaches (and, of course, her pussy) open up for the Young Heart Attack, and vice-versa, but irony won't go away, so it might just work as long as everyone present can feel smug within their "higher" education.

Young Heart Attack opens for Peaches and Magas, May 7 at the Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 North Kedzie, (773)509-5019.

(2004-05-05)

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