New releases from SexCoffee and the Sweet Release
By CHRIS CONTI | October 8, 2014
TOTAL BADASSES SexCoffee. |
Attleboro young guns the Sweet Release and PVD vets SexCoffee are back on the grind with new extended play platters worth checking out.
SexCoffee (definition: “The act that ensues after inviting someone into your home for coffee when the true intention is intercourse”), fronted by lead singer Ruth Charbonneau and bassist Sharlene DeNardo, return with a new five-song EP titled Nothing Personal. The band has been in business since 2003 and has undergone some personnel changes since taking Breakthrough Act honors in our 2009 Best Music Poll (which included a memorable exchange with special-guest presenter Vinny Paz). The ’09 EP The Morning After was a decidedly heavier dosage of SexCoffee than the 2007 full-length debut The Drink You Paid For (aside from louder cuts “Last Night” and “August”). The leadoff single “Damascus” and “Love Lust” had noticeably more punch, and Charbonneau had the vocal chops and snarl to match. Guitarist Robert Dumont replaced Rick Gallego in 2012, and the addition of ex-Kanerko drummer Nick Iddon speaks volumes (literally) across Nothing Personal. Dude is a buck-fifty soaking wet but hits the kit like a heavyweight.
“SexCoffee and Kanerko shared a bill during our final run in 2012, and I thought Ruth and Sharlene were total badasses,” Iddon told me earlier this week. He would later join Kris Hansen’s Viking Jesus crew, but still needed an outlet to unleash the beast.
“I needed to find a good harder-edged rock act to get my ‘smash the hell out of a kit’ energy that I can’t fully release with Viking Jesus, and I have definitely found it with SexCoffee” he said. “I am honored they let me in their band.”
Iddon and DeNardo previously worked together as part of Malyssa BellaRosa’s backing band the Liberators, and the pair are locked in from the opening track, “Heart On a Shelf,” alongside Dumont’s ringing chords. “Ready or Not” is an ’HJY-ready track, and Charbonneau’s booming vocals lead the way on “Lying To Yourself.” Iddon sets the rumbling pace on the crushing finale “What it Takes.” SexCoffee recorded the EP with revered producer/guitarist George Dussault (also of Viking Jesus), who also worked with local rock greats Sweet Love, the Can’t Nots, and many others.
All three SexCoffee releases are available at cdbaby.com and iTunes; visit sexcoffeeband.com for info on more upcoming shows.
