My Ruin

From page 81 of Classic Rock Magazine December 2003



Cover of December 2003 issue.
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‘The Horror Of Beauty’ (Century Media)

There’s just no holding Tairrie B back – the Bitch has returned, and this time she’s really angry. Baring little resemblance to anything she’s done in the past, ‘The Horror Of Beauty’ is Miss B’s two-fingered salute to Hollywood’s perfection, the music industry and just about everyone who’s ever spited her.

Her bloody assault is a far cry from her previous work with Tura Satana and Manhole, which sounds almost commercial in comparison; the religious iconography and punchy, sliding bass hooks are both gone, and it takes a while to get used to; she screams, she spits, she snarls her way through 14 new tracks, including a cover of the ultimate Riot Grrl anthem ‘Rid Of Me’, originally performed by that other woman of angst-filled modern rock, Polly Jean Harvey.

Despite all that screaming, the songs are actually very melodic. The aural partnership between Mick Murphy’s doom-driven guitar licks and Yael’s dirge-like drums take the edge off Tairrie’s raw vocals. To call this album dark would be an understatement; to call it violent would perhaps be nearer to the mark.

★★★ ★★

Natasha Scharf

Robert Wyatt
Peter Frampton






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