The Julie Ruin- Hit Reset (2016)

The Julie Ruin- Hit Reset (2016)

By: Ghost Writer

I must admit that I'm an unconditional fan of the legendary Yoko Onto, many may hate me for this, but yes, Yoko is my favorite Beatle, and her first Plastic Ono Band records in n the 70s are among my favorite recordings ever, although it may sound strange in part I'm a big fan of British Anarcho Punks Crass because of the influence of Ono music on them, and that's another reason why I love riot grrrl bands, feminists may hate me also for putting a lot of today's bands like Russia´s Pussy Riot, Childbirth, White Fung and Skating Polly into this sort of category, but to me, they are ask Ono's daughter, including original riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna, singer for the unforgettable Bikini Kill.

The Julie Ruin, Hanna's post Le Tigre record is also a favorite one, it might not be as remarkable as BK, but it certainly rocks harder than her former more electronic and dance oriented band, TJR manages to keep a jagged edge thanks mainly to Hanna's abrasive performance sometimes pushing the whole mix into really wild punk rock, overwhelming the almost new wave, bubblegum pop nature of the band, with Hanna being more closer to Eve Libertine from the Crass than to Debbie Harry of Blondie fame, first track that gives name to the record, Hit Reset shows Hanna going from languid, melancholic singing to really intense in a matter of seconds, the 60s girl group (like on Rather Not) flavor of the song is just a small part of the overall capacities of the band as on first single, more straight forward, more streamlined but also heavy hitting with more dissonant guitars and keyboards.

But true sound abrasiveness and Hanna's admiration for Ono are fully put in display on tunes like Hello Trust No One and Be Nice that nearly recalls the mighty Ono flirting with krautrock in the 70s on records like Fly, while on Planet You and Let Me Go, despite Hanna's sometimes aggressive over the top tone, the band sounds decidedly inclined towards pop, with the latter recalling strongly David Bowie's Heroes on a sped up version.

In Hit Reset, Hanna and company let their Ono obsessions fly free, perhaps with her former band, BK, Hanna could have easily recreated the earth shattering sounds of Ono early records, but with new wavish The Julie Ruin, Hanna ends up sounding a little bit like late 70s confusing Ono records, Hit Reset has good moments but overall is a disappointing affair, and coming from someone as talented as Hanna, this is truly disastrous, an opportunity wasted.