I Bificus, Bif Naked (Lava/Atlantic):
In this crazy post-feminist climate, “you go, girl” seems to be a philosophy, incantation and battle cry all at once.
Enter Bif Naked, a straight-edge, straight-on pop punker with mucho moxie, a gift for songwriting and a voice that can sear or soothe, depending on her mood.
With kohl-heavy Siouxsie Sioux meets Salome looks, she doesn’t want anyone’s head on a platter – just take her seriously, please.
Easy enough, she’s earned it.
I Bificus is a musical juggernaut that kicks from start to finish and improves with successive plays.
The opener, I Died, takes no prisoners with its tale of devastation at the hands of a lover over lunch.
“I died eating french fries/in the restaurant on the corner,/where you broke my heart” might be ditzy fluff coming from a more lightweight artist, but from Bif the words are gut wrenching and existentialist deep.
She explores the betrayal of infidelity in the frenzied, punk-pulsating Moment of Weakness and in the thunderous Only the Girl in which her vocals grow from vulnerable to snarling.
So much more than a punkette scorned, Bif delivers a joyful if guarded tribute to true love in the undulating Lucky.
Anything is a delightful, detail-rich portrait of first love.
--Heidi Johnson-Wright
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