What the hell is going on with the cover art for Bad News by Ligeia? Scantily clad lady-of-the-night, blocky fonts strobing vertically… it looks like some justifiably-forgotten eighties hair metal album. Maybe there’s some ironic message I’m missing here, some retro reference that has passed me by, but I can’t see that selling to the usual Ferret Music demographic.
The good news is that Bad News isn’t a bad hair metal album. The bad news is that Ligeia play some bastard hybrid of metalcore and nu-metal which – while vaguely preferable to spandex sleaze – seems to hinge entirely on lyrics that catalogue the band’s recent hard times and excess without saying anything interesting about them whatsoever.
There’s a certain moody exuberance to Ligeia’s music, especially in the rhythm section which shifts neatly between metalcore beatdowns and faster sections, followed closely by big open chords that sound like Isis doing post-hardcore covers. There’s very little in the way of lead guitar, though, and Bad News doesn’t deviate from its formula much; the one stand-out track is “Heroin Diaries”, a downbeat acoustic guitar number that also sees vocalist Keith Holuk taking one rare step outside of his own personal experience for inspiration.
Holuk’s vocals are probably the most remarkable part of the Ligeia experience; when he’s not doing the shouty metalcore thing, his singing voice is strangely reminiscent of Chino Moreno, and it’s a pleasant change to hear someone singing with some character in a lower register. Sadly, Bad News possesses none of the darkly abstract poetics of Deftones material, tending more toward the “stuff sucks, get wasted, break things” narratives of the rap-metal also-rans – a comparison amplified by the unimaginative and unnecessary addition of some turntable scratching on “I’ve Been Drinkin”.
Most disappointing of all is the undercurrent of misogyny that runs all through Bad News. “You’re so glamorous, you’re so scandalous,” sings Holuk in “One Night Stand”, a classic “I scored with some fine chick because I’m the rock star” story whose theme is repeated in “Bombshell”. So maybe that cock-rock cover art isn’t so inappropriate after all… but in case you were thinking that Ligeia are appreciative of women who give up the goods, album closer “Hoodrat” unleashes the sort of crass gender-hatred that I usually associate with gangster rap: “nobody cares, you’re always sleeping around… bitch, you’re a whore”. The moral of the story? It’s only OK to be a slut if Holuk wants to take you back to the tour bus.
Bad News is nondescript at best, blurring the edges of metalcore without truly crossing any boundaries. Indeed, the only remarkable thing about Ligeia’s material is the narcissism and hypocrisy that runs all the way through it, and frankly I’m disappointed in Ferret Music for putting out an album that peddles such blatant unreconstructed sexism. Bad News is best avoided, if only on principle.
Posted in Music reviews | 28 Comments »
August 2nd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
whine cry, hoodrat is an amazing song.
bad news is an overall good CD cant decide if its better then “Your gift is a ghost”
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:43 pm
If you’ve ever seen Keith at a show, you’d know that he wouldn’t take a slut back to the bus, they don’t even travel in a bus. Keith ignores slutty bitches at shows.
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I have no idea how Holuk behaves at shows, and it’s none of my business (unless I’m sent to review one, of course). The point I was making is that his lyrics clearly objectify women as sex objects and little else; this is seen as a positive characteristic when he likes them, and negative when he doesn’t. That may not bother him or you, but it bothers me.
August 4th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Gd dmn ht y.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Don’t listen to these dipshits. This CD is awful and the gender politics displayed by this band need to be swept away by a Nor’easter.
August 6th, 2008 at 5:42 am
This is the most rediculous thing I’ve ever read , there lyrics who are you to judge them on words? There songs… there doing what they do to sell there album. There so hateful towards women yet everytime I’ve hung out with them they’ve done nothing but be respectful to me and any female in there presence.
Thats all ..
Oh p.s if your gonna judge the lyrics get em right.. ” bitch yous a ho”
August 6th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Who am I to judge them on their lyrics? A person with ears, that’s who. If they don’t want to be judged on lyrical content, they should write instrumentals.
And sorry about getting the lyrics wrong – I was assuming that the band weren’t as functionally illiterate as their fanbase seem to be. My bad.
August 6th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
This Cd was signed and given to me by the band. My daughter and I met them in my hood, they were the coolest guys to me. I absolutely LOVE the Cd, it is a great change for them. I like the upbeat “Teenage Wasteland” Not a Who cover, way better!!! Great Cd fellas, come back to Dirty Jersey soon. Amazing! I hope they bring my band “Ashes of your Enemy” on tour with them! By the way that was a cheap attemp at a plug. Anyway great job on the new cd!
August 7th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Yo, “The Editor.”
You’re kind of a dipshit. Anyone ever mention…? Sure they have.
I’ll admit, this is no Rareform by After The Burial, but for Christ’s sake your critique on this album is horrendously ignorant, and ill inspired.
Do us a favor; Discontinue your music review acclaim and get back to your iPod player that has your panic @ the disco on repeat.
Thanx bra!!
August 7th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Thanks for the personal insults, Prreeg. If you’d care to point out *why* my review is so ignorant and ill-informed, maybe my reviewing would improve, hmmm? But that might involve you having to actually, you know, refute the points I made, and it’s a lot easier to just anonymously insult me, isn’t it? Dipshit is as dipshit does, I guess.
August 11th, 2008 at 4:03 am
I think your opinion about a hardcore band’s lyrics being too sexist or hypocritical is pretty ridiculous. I have been out to many shows and many places and there are girls exactly like the lyrics they have in their songs. Why not talk about it without caring what reviewers say? Maybe you are disappointed that Ligeia is taking a different route in their style than you expected or hoped. I think the melodic parts and the catchy parts are genius. It is something hardcore was in need of without going totally soft. I listen to this album at least once a day. Seems like unless its brutal or completely soft, basically expected.. then it’s terrible. Get real.
August 11th, 2008 at 6:29 am
This album is awesome. Buy it and support this band they are great guys. By the way everyone remembers the skank who trys to be cool and sleeps with everyone as referred to in hoodrat. I wont insult you on your review though but i will say it is a bit extreme but still a matter of opinion.
August 11th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Justin and Jay, thanks for actually taking the time to engage with my review rather than throw rocks at me.
Justin: musically I thought there were some interesting points, and as I mentioned, Holuk’s voice is actually quite a refreshing change from the norm. The scratching was a dreadful choice, though. Totally unnecessary, adds nothing to the track. I had no advance expectations of Ligeia at all, as this is the first album of theirs I’ve heard; I make a point of treating albums on their own merits, and I’m not interested in what’s trendy or sells well (as reading some of my other reviews here should make clear). And sure, they have a right to write about whatever the hell they want to; it’s called freedom of speech. I have the same freedom to say that I don’t approve of it. You don’t have to agree with me on that if you choose not to.
Jay: the issue I have with the depiction of the girl in “Hoodrat” is that it doesn’t question why she may be that way. Some of the other songs on the album suggest that it’s OK for guys to sleep with lots of different people if they want to; why is there a different standard for girls? And why, when Holuk manages to portray the heroin addicts as victims in “Heroin Diaries”, can he not extend the same thinking to the girl from “Hoodrat” and treat her as a human being with bad motivations, instead of simply labelling her a whore? It’s not Holuk’s opinion of the girl I’m so bothered by (though I still find the language unnecessarily misogynistic), but it’s the double standards in his songwriting. Practice what you preach, y’know? Put it this way – would you want someone calling your sister a whore? Because that girl is someone’s sister, or daughter; calling her a whore dehumanises her, makes her into a two-dimensional object of hatred.
Anyway, thanks for the well thought out comments, guys.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:29 pm
This CD fucking blows.
October 4th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
these guys are utter shit. nu-metal fags who cant even play metalcore properly. sad
October 15th, 2008 at 3:45 am
I think if you were to take a closer look at the lyrics of the album, it doesn’t objectify women at all.
It only points out the flaws of all the sluts you meet. I think if anything it says something to women to not be that way.
“Hot Mess” is the best example. Its about those girls you see at a party everynight cuz they’re whores that just wanna get fucked up and fuck.
Keith wants to point out these girls flaws to make them feel bad. Because they should feel bad.
October 15th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Comprehension FAIL.
“No way does this album objectify women! And to prove it, I’m gonna objectify women. But only the slutty ones.”
I refer you to my earlier comment; Holuk makes no effort in his lyrics to try to understand why the girls might behave that way, and it appears you haven’t either. And I still see a disparity between telling girls they’re sluts for having sex frequently but glorifying the same behaviour by males. But that’s just me.
November 7th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Besides his singing its a pretty generic album from the instruments to the lyrics
November 19th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I never would have believed that an album by this band would provoke a discussion anywhere. This band seems to do something you either love or hate. Considering the band’s pretty unique approach to different harder music styles, perhaps not so strange. Albeit very similar in approach to their previous recording, this album definitively takes a more mysogonistic approach. Maybe the band is exploding from the inside and is it merely a reflection of the band’s state of affairs, who knows.
Creative freedom goes a long way and there’s surely more artist/records who have conveyed similar pessimistic and hypocritical lyrics in a more abstract or even more direct or even despiccable form.
Having stated that, i can’t really deny the logical and creative correct approach of the reviewer. Let’s be honest here ladies and gentleman, this clearly walks and talks like the perverbial duck. Allthough the perception of the reviewer (and mine) might be wrong -the band is i’m sure made up of perfectly normal guys- but in the end the feeling remains that it’s a record, made by people who know how to write solid songs, but leave the lyrical baggage to a very primal approach.
Deplorable? I disagree. Unnerving and unsatisfactory? Because of a lack of a good creative approach towards social phenomenons, for sure.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Dear editor,
I agree with you 100%. I kind of liked the first record and I was just listening to this one while doing grocery shopping. I literally said: “WHAT?” out loud when I heard the glamorous/scandalous song. I never thought a band with that much potential would sink so low.
May 7th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
As a friend of this band, there are many things that are taken too far out of context.
As a female, I understand how the editor, another female, or anyone may be offended by the lyrics.. But they’re just that: lyrics.
There is some truth to everything: yes, but you have to understand the band as a whole.
The “scratching” on the record is a complete gimmick, as are a lot of the “cheesy” lyrics. They are all about having fun and changing it up. This album – as most have noticed – is entirely different then their previous. I think that’s how a band evolves. It’s important to be different the next time around, it’s not going to appeal to everyone but it’s a risk that you’ve got to take.
These guys have been doing this for years. The music scene that we grew up on has become a “breeding ground” for slutty girls. Girls that aren’t there for the music, they’re there to be “seen” and will do anything to do so. I think that it gets tiring.
It’s not that Keith intentionally means to ‘objectify’ women, but he speaks a lot of truth.
I suggest you go to a live show perhaps, and then maybe you can understand why they feel the way that they do.
They have many friends that are female, as well as girlfriends.
I think this review (with respect) was written without much knowledge of the band at all, but I suppose that’s what a review is: an outside look at the record as a whole.
I understand a person who has an unbiased opinion not “taking” to it right away, if at ALL.
I just wanted to clarify (not that I needed to), that these are good guys who respect women so long as they who deserve to be respected.
May 8th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Trista, thank you for taking the time and effort to make a readable and well-thought-out response; it has done you and the band far more favours than anyone else so far in this thread.
You’re quite right; the album is treated as if in a cultural quarantine of sorts. In the absence of Ligeia having a bigger public profile, there’s not much else a reviewer can do.
And as such, yes, there may be subtleties and justifications to their material that make it less offensive; it’s sadly lacking in the album itself, however, and that hasn’t done them many favours.
Thanks again for the informed and adult input, Trista.
July 3rd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
He wouldn’t objectify women if they didn’t give him a reason to objectify them.
If they didn’t want to be called sluts, they wouldn’t behave like the woman described in “Hoodrat” did, or the woman in “Wishing Wells.” I like how you failed to mention “Wishing Wells,” the most emotionally deep song on the album in my opinion. Sure, it’s a downer on women. Women were a downer on him.
It might be a “shit sucks, get wasted, break shit” attitude on an album, but what is the rest of hurt-by-sluts America doing?
July 3rd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Oh, whooops.
Wishing Wells is on a different album (:
My mistake.
Ignore that line (:
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
I suspect we may have rather different understandings of the verb “to objectify”…
But to address your point, Ellen, I have no problem with people writing about relationships gone wrong – it’s a songwriting staple.
As mentioned above, it’s the hypocrisy in condemning “slutty” behaviour in women but lauding it for men that bothers me most. It’s one step away from the “well, she was asking for it, dressed up like that” defense of rape, IMHO. YMMV, of course.
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:16 am
It might be a step away, but attempted murder and murder are one step apart and treated totally different. There is a difference.
I would never say a girl was asking to be raped by what she was wearing. She might be asking for it if she was hanging out with an acquaintance she knew liked her and she was teasing him and trying to piss him off by playing some conniving mindgames like a lot of girls do. No, rape isn’t right, but that doesn’t make the victim an angel. Murder isn’t right, but in the case of self defense, the victim wasn’t an angel.
I have to say I agree with the statement someone above made of “I think if you were to take a closer look at the lyrics of the album, it doesn’t objectify women at all.
It only points out the flaws of all the sluts you meet. [...]
Keith wants to point out these girls flaws to make them feel bad. Because they should feel bad.”
Women who parade around assuming sex is their weapon are wrong and should not be treated with utmost respect just because they are female. I’ve found that more women than men are looking for no-strings sex. I’m not sure where the stereotype comes from or this story of a “double-standard” – If men just want sex, they tend to be upfront about it and make jokes, etc. When it’s all women want, they connive and manipulate and then leave the man hurt and wondering what happened. They’re sneaky and underhanded.
That’s what Keith is writing about.
At least he’s just writing a song and not raping the girl in “Bombshell.”
March 12th, 2010 at 6:38 am
This “Editor” guy takes dick for fun. Good music will always be good music. They’re party music, they’re good, and they know how to put on a good show. They are truly chill, and they do respect women, because my brother knows them. You make them seem like utnalented cocky macho manwhores, and they a lot better than that.
Yo Editor, write an album yourself, and make it better than theirs okay? That way i’ll stop listening to them so much. Dick.
March 14th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
What can I say? It’s a step up from taking it for money, AMIRITE?
Your brother being some noted authority on sexism in modern culture, one presumes?
Pretty sure I never called them untalented, nor manwhores. Cocky, certainly. Misogynistic, definitely.
Ah, this old classic – because I only have the authority to pass comment on music if I’m a more successful musician than the ones being reviewed, yes? So OK, I’ll make an album better than this one… just as soon as you show me the review you’ve written that’s so much better than this one, thus – by your own logic – giving you the authority to pass judgement on my writing.
It’s this closing remark that really underlines the incisive arguments that inform your entire comment, demonstrating clearly that at least one die-hard Ligeia fan has an IQ slightly larger than their own shoe size. I concede the field to your razor wit and ferocious logical rigour.
The TL;DR version: your opinions would be frightening, if only you actually had any.