| Make Yr Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2004 | |||
| Genre | Queercore, pop punk | |||
| Label | Yep Roc Records [1] | |||
| Producer | Greg Griffith | |||
| The Butchies chronology | ||||
| ||||
Make Yr Life is the fourth album by the American lesbian queercore band the Butchies, released in 2004. [2] [3] It was the band's final album. [4]
The album was produced by Greg Griffith; the band worked for two and half years on the songs, and spent 10 days recording them. [5] [6] The Butchies set out to make a poppier album. [7]
The band had been playing "17" in concert for years, and recorded the song after it had become a fan favorite. [8]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Robert Christgau |  [10] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [8] |
The Washington Post thought that "such thumping new songs as 'Trouble' and 'She's So Lovely' demonstrate that the band has lost none of its swagger, but overall this disc is the band's poppiest outing." [11] The Advocate declared that "Kaia Wilson, Melissa York, and Alison Martlew are undisputed masters of the two- to three-minute power-punk anthem." [12] The Orlando Sentinel concluded that "even when the lyrics lean toward melodrama, Wilson's slashing guitar combines with the rumbling rhythms of bassist Alison Martlew and drummer Melissa York to make words inconsequential." [8]
The Chicago Reader wrote that "though York’s stick work is still hard and nimble, Make Yr Life feels a bit less punk than the Butchies’ first three records, as if they were dialing it back to show off their songwriting–which is chewier than ever." [13] The Morning Call determined that "where some may have turned to a cover of The Outfield's 'Your Love' for its nostalgic value, The Butchies make it their own, providing the album with a sexually heated closing track that is deliriously dramatic." [14]
AllMusic wrote that "the band's quiet, drastic reworking of the Outfield's 1985 pop hit 'Your Love' just may be the cover version of the year." [9]
All songs composed by the Butchies, except as noted.
Amy Elizabeth Ray is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls with Emily Saliers. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemon Records.
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The Butchies were an all-female punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005. They reunited from their hiatus to tour with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls promoting Ray's new album in 2010. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes.
Melissa York is a rock drummer noted for her work with iconic lesbian bands such as Team Dresch, The Butchies, and Amy Ray. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.
Kaia Lynn Wilson is an American musician from Portland, Oregon, best known as a founding member of both Team Dresch, a revered 1990s queercore punk band, and The Butchies, a pop-rock spin-off from her solo work. In addition to singing, songwriting and guitar, Wilson co-established and operated Mr. Lady Records from 1996 to 2004.
The Outfield were an English rock band based in London. The band achieved success in the mid-1980s and are best remembered for their hit single, "Your Love". The band's lineup consisted of guitarist John Spinks, vocalist and bassist Tony Lewis, keyboard player Reg Webb, and drummer Alan Jackman.
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“Your Love” is a song by the English rock band the Outfield, taken from their 1985 debut album Play Deep, released in early 1986 and written by guitarist John Spinks. In the United States, the song reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Album Rock Tracks chart in 1986.
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Stag is the debut solo album by Amy Ray of Indigo Girls, released in 2001 on her Daemon Records label. Ray is accompanied by the Butchies, the Rockateens, Joan Jett, Josephine Wiggs and Kate Schellenbach on the album. She attributes the Butchies with contributing a punk rock influence to some of the songs.
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Population: 1975 is the second album by the queercore band the Butchies, released in 1999.
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Electric Juices is the second album by the American alternative rock band Fuzzy, released in 1996.
