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Canada's #1 all-women punk band. For the first time on vinyl, here’s the entire 1980 output by the trailblazing Dishrags quartet.
Formed in 1976 in Victoria and later relocating to Vancouver, the Dishrags played Vancouver’s first-ever punk rock gig and went on to bump elbows with the Clash, the Ramones, the Avengers, and countless others.
Four features 13 songs of brooding punk & early hardcore, meticulously remastered. Including their 9-song studio demo, 3-song Death in the Family EP, and 1 soundboard recording. Large-size booklet with their bio, interview, photos, and gig posters. Plus a cool sticker! 1100 copies, black vinyl.
Our take: Supreme Echo Records brings us a second archival compilation from Vancouver’s the Dishrags, North America’s first all-woman punk band. While the earlier release Three compiled material by the band’s three-piece iteration, Four chronicles the expanded lineup, including their 1980 EP Death in the Family, a nine-song studio demo, and some excellent sounding soundboard recordings. Like the material on Three, Four finds the Dishrags sounding very much of a piece with what was happening across the world as punk shot its tendrils across oceans and continents, which is certainly not a bad thing, as these tracks are imbued with the revolutionary spirit of the times. The music is three-chord punk that frequently accelerates to hardcore tempos, much like Dangerhouse bands such as the Dils and Rhino 39 were doing at the same time further down the west coast. Where Four really distinguishes itself, though, is in the vocal arrangements, with back-ups and trade-offs making these songs come alive, like on the standout opener “Quiet Little Table.” While the production on most of these tracks is bare-bones, one senses there was enough raw material here that the Dishrags could have made a classic punk album. Had that happened, the Dishrags’ place in history might have been different, but as things stand, both their compilation LPs are full of gems.