BOTMO Review / Mar 06
i (heart) music

If, prior to The Woods, Sleater-Kinney had decided that instead of channeling Led Zeppelin they were going to get as horny as possible and make an album about it, they probably would've sounded like The Maynards do on Break Out The Make Out.

This description is a little problematic, however. After all, The Maynards are one-third male (in the form of co-lead singer Heath Matheson), and it's hard to imagine that S-K or their ilk would ever want to spoil the all-female party. More importantly, The Maynards are the rarest of grrl bands: they're apolitical, and they don't seem to have any intentions beyond being as raunchy and as fun to listen to as possible.

They're also really, really good at what they do. Break Out The Make Out clocks in at just under twenty-five minutes, and there's not a moment of wasted (or of unsexy) energy on it. Songs like "Hot Shane" and the title track (streaming on the band's site) prove that "punk" and "sexy" needn't be mutually exclusive terms, while even when they slow things down a little (as on "781.66092"), they still do so with a sultry swagger.

Admittedly, given current aspects of the political climate (especially south of the border), the suggestion of women having any sexuality is bound to be a political statement. In that respect, I guess, Make Out The Break Out is as political as anything the likes of Bratmobile or Bikini Kill came out with a decade ago. The difference is that The Maynards are fun to listen to at the same time.