1994 In Review: Veruca Salt - "American Thighs"

If you took a room full of people aside one by one and asked them to name the first female-fronted rock band of the '90s they could think of, I suspect the vast majority would mention Hole. That's not right or wrong; but the point is that Veruca Salt, despite achieving a good deal of success worldwide and putting out two really good records before things went sideways for them, has been doomed to obscurity in the minds of many.

It's understandable, of course; they never dabbled in controversy, went public with any details about their original break-up, or clamored desperately for attention once their fifteen minutes were up. It's not great if the goal was to stay in the public eye, but there was a staggering benefit to going about their business quietly; it ensures what we're left with to reflect on is the music, like it should always be.

Stripped of any extracurricular activities or external circumstances, American Thighs is simply the excellent debut album by Veruca Salt, a burst of power pop that didn't have to rely on bells and whistles to be effective. The dual guitar and vocal attack of Nina Gordon and Louise Post displays formidable chemistry, the rhythm section holding it all together nicely. It's more effective on the singles, but that's why they choose singles; as far as power pop anthems go, they don't come much more bombastic than Seether, more sinister than All Hail Me, or more heart wrenching than Number One Blind.

There's not much more to it than that, and that's okay. Sometimes you don't need to concern yourself with the whys and hows. We could build a hypothesis about gender equality in rock (and some have), we could bicker about whether or not the music stands the test of time (and some surely will), or we can just crank it up, nod our heads and agree that American Thighs was, and is, a fine record.

September 27, 1994 • DGC

Highlights All Hail Me • Seether • Number One Blind