Music: The Distillers: Coral Fang

The Distillers' lead singer, Brody Dalle, has been labeled the next Courtney Love. Not bad for a 24-year-old Australian punk rocker, but an interesting comparison considering she can probably scream better than Love--and many male punk singers for that matter.

Coral Fang, the Distillers' third album and major label debut boasts some pretty bouncy, catchy songs, and definitely pops more than the band's harder, more grinding, independent past efforts. That's not to say that it's bubblegum. Dalle and Co. have just added some melody to the noise, of which there's still plenty.

Coral Fang is essentially a break-up album, written shortly after Dalle's divorce from Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong. The separation couldn't have been too pretty. Dalle dropped out of the Vans Warped Tour to avoid having to tour with her ex-husband, opting for Lollapalooza instead. And while Coral Fang's sound is more pop, its subject matter is certainly not. The album is full of anger--more than half the tracks mention some combination of death, blood, gore and suicide--with some shades of vulnerability beneath the rage.

There are images of arbitrary violence, like in "Drain the Blood," when Dalle boasts "I went to school today with an Uzi." Then there are moments that convey a more wounded sentiment: "The Hunger" is nice, acoustic, California mid-tempo--until Dalle shrieks "Don't Go!" like a banshee to remind you that she's pissed off.

Coral Fang was produced by Gil Norton, a veteran who has worked for the Pixies, Foo Fighters and Dashboard Confessional. Norton's production is appropriate for the major label debut; Coral Fang's sound is somehow clear and bright despite the heavy guitar distortion and Dalle's screaming. The Distillers also hired a second guitarist to give the band more depth, which allows them to move away from the Rancid-influenced, bass-heavy style of their last album, Sing Sing Death House.

While Coral Fang probably won't be making its way into many TRL-watching pre-teens' stereos, the album is likely to leave a few diehard punks a little disappointed. But joining a big label doesn't make this talented band a sellout. It just allows them to reach a bigger audience, which in this case isn't such a bad thing. The Distillers are a good band, and they deserve to be heard, even at the risk of alienating a few old fans.