by Jeremy P. Goldstein
"I don't give a damn about my bad reputation," might be a good catchphrase for Chicago's Reputation if, for one, it hadn't already been coined by Joan Jett and secondly, if it were true. When you have a frontwoman in Elizabeth Elmore who is about to finish up law school at Northwestern, there isn't a whole lot of bad reputation to go around. But there is a whole lot of catchiness on the band's debut release for Lookout!, To Force a Fate. As anyone who caught them at the Fader lounge at SXSW or has seen them on tour can attest, this quartet has a way with a tune. Not your average Lookout! fare, The Reputation turn in punk rock mayhem for tuneful indie rock along the lines of Velocity Girl or The Sundays. Pianos drive "Follow-Through Time" along, while album opener "Let This Rest" allows itself to be carried along by chiming guitars and Elmore's powerful voice. The tempo is taken down a notch on the Sundays-esque "Face It" and on "The Ugliness Kicking Around," but th eonly ugliness to be found is in title only. The varied indie rock tempos and song structures found on To Force A Fate, paired with Elmore's pretty voice, draw you back into its grasp, listen upon listen.