Bitch and Animal

Eternally Hard

(Righteous Babe Records)

Mmmmmhmmmm, just what the doctor ordered: lesbian-transsexual folk-rock from the goddess Ani Difranco’s Righteous Babe stables. Except…well. Bitch and Animal come across occasionally as ukelele-brandishing, homosexual takes on Blink-182, with songs about “The Best Cock on the Block,” a moving tribute to the wonders of dildos, and “Sparkly Queen Areola;” the songs are, according to the liner notes, “mainly ramblings on our cereal box of life, the sparkly sparkly pussy.” Only instead of Blink’s surf-punk bar-chord pop, the whole shebang is framed by some beautifully recorded but distinctly do-it-yourself acousticness, with frequent accompanying howls and yelps.

Ani D herself guests in minor roles on some of the juiciest, most attractive songs, like the sweet and sour “Traffic,” which revolves around an introspective bass riff and heart-on-sleeve lyrics by Bitch: “All we have is our love and our guts, baby.” The melody takes a back seat for much of the album though, in favour of repetitive bass lines and vituperative rap. Folk rap has becoming increasingly popular since tracks like Everlast’s “What it’s Like,” but this is some of the first folk rap to unite the angry sexual preoccupation of rap, (“What can I do for you my bitch?”) with a personal perspective and stripped-down folk accompaniment, driven by Animal’s djembe and Bitch’s bass.

Some might find it a little tricky to relate to the woes of “Boy Girl Wonder,” a simple she-don’t-love-me song with echoes of “Why Must I be a Teenager in Love” in its plaintive chorus. However, fewer teenagers—even 21st century ones—grieve, “But he’s got a real one, and mine’s from the store.” The novelty of “Ganja,” a song about Jesus and his Biblical cohorts getting high to the tune of “Angels from the Realms of Glory” may wear off quickly, but the childlike elegance and innocence of “Mother’s Day” is worth a few return journeys.

3/5