Dwarves: Thank Heavens for Little Girls/Sugarfix

"Thank Heavens for Little Girls" and "Sugarfix" are the two albums after "Blood, Guts, and Pussy," but before "The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking." I have these two albums on one twofer CD, so I'm covering them both in one post (sorry about all the math, I know it's hangover day)...



Dwarves: Thank Heaven for Little Girls

1991

Sub Pop Records

Format I Own it on: Kompact Dusk

Track Listing: 1. Satan  2. Johnny Glue  3. Speed Demon  4. Blood Brothers Revenge  5. Blag the Ripper  6. Lucky Tonight  7. Who’s Fucking Who  8. Fuck ‘em All  9. Anybody But Me  10. Three Seconds  11. Fuck Around  12. Dairy Queen  13. The Scum Also Rises  14. Jonney Glue


I find this title and cover fucking hilarious for some reason. I imagine if you're unfamiliar with the band it would appear innocuous or even nice but if you're aware of the band's repugnant reputation you can't help but let a malignant grin slide across your face...

 This album is where I consider the baseline Dwarves sound to emerge. The hardcore blasts of "Blood, Guts & Pussy" are mostly gone, replaced by a poppier punk sound with slight tinges of metal. Actually this album has an almost galloping cowpunk sound at times. The subject matter is still pretty much the same though...Lots of mayhem, drug, and fucking....Satan himself pops up from time to time to survey his kingdom.

A couple of my favorite Dwarves tracks appear here: "Blood Brothers" which has a fun sing-songy melody (and bizarre fucked up lyrics, but I guess that goes without saying) where that cowpunk feel I mentioned earlier is displayed more prominently with a slippery slide guitar and a rhythm section that sounds like the hooves of Satan's steed...

 The other big one here is "Fuck Around," an amazing doo-wop ditty where we first get a good look at the more bubble-gummy, Ramones-y side of the band that would later become more prominent.

A couple other observations: Was I the only one who was surprised when "Three Seconds" went beyond the 3 second mark? I also fully expected "Dairy Queen" to be about some lactating girl with big jugs. After hearing the audio trailer on here for "The Scum Also Rises," I looked it up and realized it doesn't exist, except for a trailer on youtube....

 Damn, I wish this really existed.

Alright, let's listen to some music...Here's "Fuck Around" by The Dwarves...Enjoy...

Dwarves: Sugarfix

1993

Sub Pop Records

Format I Own it on: Der Disk Kompact

Track Listing: 1. Anybody Out There  2. Evil Primeval  3. Reputation  4. Lies  5. Saturday Night  6. New Orleans  7. Action Man  8. Smack City  9. Cain Novacaine   10. Underworld  11. Wish That I Was Dead 12. Gash Wagon


Okay, this is why I love the Dwarves. Shortly before they released this album the band announced guitarist, HeWhoCannotBeName, had been stabbed to death, going so far as to include a memorial inside this album.

It turns out they faked his death and Sub Pop was so pissed they kicked them off the label. Brilliant.

"Sugarfix" has become one of my favorite Dwarves albums. For starters it kicks off with "Anybody Out There," which is such a perfect introductory rocker that last time I was at one of their shows the fucking place exploded when they opened their set with it.  (Oh yea, side story...At that show I was outside the Queers' touring van helping Joe Queer fix his guitar when suddenly I found myself face to face with Blag and Nick Oliveri as they approached Joe to discuss some business. I kept my eyes averted and didn't say a word cos I didn't want to end up in a fistfight or something. I was later assured that Blag is a sweetheart.) If the world had any taste whatsoever, "Anybody Out There" should have been a hit, tossing Meatloaf's fat ass off the top of the charts...

"Saturday Night" is another great pop song to throw on the pile...A nice Ramones-y serial killer story that has you singing along on the first listen. "Smack City" tackles the Seattle scene, which had come into the band's orbit via their signing to Sub Pop. Anyway, the writing was on the wall as the band takes the piss out of some of the label's most sacred cash cows...

The whole album is fast and furious (although arguably a bit less fast and furious than their previous works) and a lot of fun. The Dwarves increase the pop ratio and prove the band's greazy worldview carries over even as they seem to be going for a less overtly offensive lyrical tone.  At this point it feels like they were so marinated in scum that they were no longer required to consistently point out its presence...

Time to cut the shit...Here's "Anybody Out There" by The Dwarves...Enjoy...