Recently seen in "Mad Love", with Drew Barrymore rockin' out to its music, and appearing in practically every riot girl article, 7 Year Bitch has gained its fair share of notoriety for being a relentlessly outspoken group of women. I imagine they have no problem kicking any guys' ass, but a first-year guitar student could shovel out more originality than that heard on their new album, Gato Negro (Atlantic).

Although 7 Year Bitch's intentions are admirable, lending its name to innumerable pro-women causes, and its sincerity is undoubtable, its music lacks any form of possible creativity. The band has survived a tough start in Seattle, after which came the death of its original guitarist, Stefanie Sargent, and friends, Kristen Pfaff (Hole) and Mia Zapata (The Gits), whom the band named its last album after. Gato Negro is 7 Year Bitch's third attempt to fill an album with its undeniable anger; however, what it actually presents is cliched "girl rock" filled with obvious lyrics, a lot more L7 than Hole. The members might be pissed, but they're not very creative.

Their anger seems to have driven them to discard any sense of melody threatening to surface. The band's sound, described as "chugging stop-start rhythms with fat, funky bass lines," could also be the description for Primus, Alice in Chains, or any other equally wretched band. The only difference is this bad band includes women.

7 Year Bitch, like many other all-female bands, has gotten stuck in the trap of thinking that it has to play metal and scream unwelcomely in order to not appear "girly." However, most people listen to music out of a desire to relate, not to be distanced or put off by lyrics so obvious they sound like a story that's been told one too many times.

Hole actually succeeded in producing a number of singles and a ground-breaking debut album, before slightly wimping out. On "Pretty On the Inside," Courtney Love portrayed honest feelings of misguided love, anger, fear and depression and she did it without making her band sound like a female-fronted Melvins clone.

Alternative-heavy metal is bad when it's being played by Korn and it's bad when it's being played by four cute girls. I might root a little harder for their gutsier effort, but the music, by itself, is simply tired and rehashed. And although I'm strangely comforted by the existence of 7 Year Bitch and other such bands, you wouldn't ever catch me listening to them. - F.H.

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After numerous appearances on various local and international music compilations, Tucson's Weird Lovemakers have blessed the listening public by releasing Irving, a four-song, 45 rpm EP.

Longtime club favorites and simply a "must" for any party's success, the Weird Lovemakers have captured the super-charged energy of its live performances on this little slab of root beer-colored vinyl. You may find yourself inviting friends over to spill beer and jump around your living room while giving this beauty a spin.

What sets the Weird Lovemakers apart from others in the punk genre is the uniqueness of its lyrics. On the title track, guitarist/vocalist Greg Petix, who also draws the comic strip "Swonk," tells the tragic tale of "Irving," a hero destined to be every woman's best friend but never anyone's lover. Men who have played the confidant in hopes of becoming the copulant will easily identify with Irving's misfortune. The second song, "Catholic Guilt," describes bassist/vocalist Hector Jaime's break with his faith due to the development of a crush on the Virgin Mary. As a young Prod, it never occurred to me that the iconography of the Holy Mother might lead to her representation as some sort of holy sex symbol. Upon further investigation, however, I must concur with Jaime; Jesus, your mom is a babe.

The B-side is equally good, offering the listener a recipe for stress and confusion on "Get Uptight" and live-for-today ethics via "Snuff Like a Hog." You'll laugh yourself right into the poorhouse.

The artwork itself is both amusing and instructional as the Weird Lovemakers give a step-by-step program for learning its songs on guitar, complete with pictures and nurturing words of advice from guitarist Jason Willis. Move over Mel Bay, the Willis method is destined to become the now, hip, happening path for budding guitarists. Throw that Steve Vai instructional tape in the deck and hit record to begin chronicling your own six-string odyssey.

The record is available at Toxic Ranch Records and the Weird Lovemakers will be hosting a record release party at the Luna Loca Cafe on Saturday, March 30. Enjoy life, eat out more often. - M.R.