Dream Bitches

After a start of merely hinting at the sound of 90s female-fronted bands like The Breeders and The Muffs, NYC's DREAM BITCHES finally take the plunge on their sophomore album, COKE-AND-SPIRITERS. Dream Bitches, whose songs are written mainly by lead vocalist/guitarist Yoko Kikuchi, was born in the fall of 2003, inspired by a long drive to Atlantic City and a bucket of quarters that poured from the mouth of a slot machine. Longtime friends Kikuchi and co-vocalist Ann Zakaluk wrote the first Dream Bitches song, about luck and friendship, the day they struck it rich.

In New York City in the mid 90s, inspired by grunge-rock and riot-grrrl bands of the time, Kikuchi and Zakaluk began their collaborative musical ventures in the form of post-choral paste-up medleys recorded on a boombox in Yoko's bedroom during her parents' parties. Several years later, having returned to the city from art college, the two rekindled their collaboration as Dream Bitches, with an assortment of musicians including guitarist/producer Casey Holford on board. Their 2005 debut, Sanfransisters, was a playful folk-pop affair, with jangly acoustic guitars and catchy choruses that made Dream Bitches an East Village cult sensation. Soon after the release, Kikuchi, Zakaluk and Holford recruited their full line-up of bassist Julie DeLano and drummer Jen.Knee.

COKE-AND-SPIRITERS, due out on Recommended If You Like Records, captures the band at their most volatile, with dance-rock jams offset by hyper-literate acoustic ballads. With distorted hooks and a pounding beat, COKE-AND-SPIRITERS was recorded by Mark Ospovat of Emandee Studios (CocoRosie, Wooden Wand, Jeff Lewis) and produced by Casey Holford. Snarling anthems like "Maniacal Mechanic" and "Bad Luck Bill" lend a new spirit of rock n' roll bombast to the relentlessly wordy lyrics that make Kikuchi a classic antifolk songwriter in the tradition of Rough Trade's Jeffrey Lewis and K Records' Kimya Dawson.