You Can't Take A Bad Girl Home

Album review

On the cover of this album, the Fabulous Ginn Sisters look like tough high-school chicks who've dressed themselves with hand-me-downs and thrift store cast-offs. The sisters -- Tiffani on lead vocals and guitar, Brit on harmony vocals -- complement their provocative look with tunes that explore the dark side of female life in the modern world. While still rooted in the folk/roots world of their Austin hometown, You Can't Take a Bad Girl Home has a harder, blues-drenched retro-rock sound. "You Should've Known" rides a smoldering swampy groove as dangerous as the woman the sisters sing about: a biker babe who delights in breaking hearts. A gritty guitar solo adds to the tune's nasty feel. The measured piano triplets that introduce "Share Our Secrets" give the tune the feel of a '50s girl group tune, but the lyric describes a thoroughly modern dysfunctional relationship. Tiffani's tortured purr strikes the right note between hope and desolation. "Heart and Bones" is a putdown of a self-absorbed musician given a ‘60s folk-rock flavor with a Hammond B-3 and a sinister backbeat. The sisters close the song with beautiful harmonies that don't sound overly sympathetic. The Sisters spent most of the previous year opening shows for Canadian roots rock maverick Fred Eaglesmith and singing backup in his band. He returns the favor by producing You Can't Take a Bad Girl Home with a live, aggressive feel that gets the most out of the Sisters' sturdy working-class anthems.
© j. poet /TiVo