This sophomore outing arrives as a follow-up to Sick 'Em, two years after the death of guitarist Stefanie Sargent and not very long after 7 Year Bitch were unwittingly proclaimed progenitors of the riot grrrl movement. But if the pedigree involves more sociology than the Bitch can comfortably claim, their music is much more streamlined – it's mean, riff- and bass-driven punk rock with furious...

There is a touch of sadness to the debut by 7 Year Bitch, a highly touted group of Seattle riot grrrls. It has little to do with the music's chaotic verve and everything to do with the fatal heroin OD last summer of guitarist Stefanie Sargent. So the rush of this feral, feminist rock noise has been muted by tragedy, slowing down if not altogether stopping a band ready to kick a little patriarchal...