When a band is half as good as the "Throwing Muses," that band is pretty damn good. "Blanche Fury," an all-chick band from Texas, is about half as good as the "Throwing Muses," and from me that’s a hell of a compliment. The band is mostly an exceptional vocalist, Anne Fontenot, and a highly competent back-up band. Fontenot’s voice is aggressive, haunting, edgy, serene, and endlessly listenable. This CD, Blurfly, is "Blanche Fury’s" second release, and it’s chock full of solid tunes, singable melodies, and pleasant arrangements. Reminiscent of Louisville’s "Candy Says," the songs are strong on inflection, emotion, and vocal play, if weak on lyrics and hooks. Diversity is "Blanche Fury’s" strength – each tune comes with a little surprise, but the overall style is still consistent and memorable. The music is executed with confidence and courage, giving the listener the feeling of being in good hands. It’s a stress-free listen.

With one notable exception. The very problematic track 10 begins "Come from a city from a faraway place / Where you don't even know me / Even know my race, see / Where're you going? Where're you from?" It’s called "India." I have no idea what it is about and I have no desire to know, because I feel certain it’s some sort of preachy cultural relativist treatise about foreign sensuality and the power of the "other" or else someone in the band took a trip to India and got a little too engorged on the whole veil thing. The other irritating thing is that the CD has one of those bookendy last tracks that lasts for 4 seconds and sounds exactly like the very beginning of track 1.