The Distillers

By David Gemmell

Coral Fang, the latest offering from The Distillers, delves into a more polished and pop-based punk sound that ends up falling shy of memorable. The album is by far the most mainstream The Distillers have produced to date, featuring songs like “Beat Your Heart Out” and “For Tonight You’re Only Here to Know” that are pop-punk to the core. The peppier songs lack the raw emotion that sets Brody Dalle’s voice apart and seem paradoxical considering the lyrical content uses overdone themes like blood, ripping, and death.


“The Hunger” is the highlight of the album, delivering quieter, melodic verses with strong and aggressive choruses. Considering the urgency and jagged power of Dalle’s voice, some of the tracks feel overproduced and too smooth. “Death Sex,” the closing track, is 11 minutes of abrasive noise that seems misplaced after the previous melodies.


The blatantly jarring lyrics and cover art mesh poorly with the more refined punk sound and make for an artificial-feeling album.