by Jimmy Draper
Having spent four years spilling her guts in the excellent pep-punk band Sarge, Chicago’s Elizabeth Elmore knows the truth can hurt. She plowed through that band’s three thrilling albums with a startling audacity, tossing off astute, scathingly honest, and painful observations that spared no one - not old flames or ex-friends, not even herself.
Unfortunately, judging by all the references to fairweather friends and cheating lovers on her new band’s amazing debut, Elmore’s still sorting through some fucked-up relationships. She’s also still penning brutally honest songs that are reminiscent of Sarge’s more moving material like "Beguiling," calling bluffs and making resolutions on stunners like "For the Win" and "Misery by Design." It’s Elmore’s best work to date, building brilliantly upon her previous band’s exhilarating energy, tongue-twisting lyrics, and emotional resonance in a way that fans only could have hoped for. Sure, her Sarge days may have taught her that telling the truth doesn’t – and probably won’t- make her life any easier, but fans can rest assured that she’d still rather shut up than sugarcoat. "You called me crazy and well, yeah, maybe," she sings, "but I know the truth." And somehow she sounds more emboldened than ever by that fact.