Holly Golightly first made a splash in the early 90s with Thee Headcoatees, a raucous ladies’ auxiliary to Billy Childish’s most famous combo. The gehls tried gamely to look like they were being teensploited by the garage guru, playing punk covers and Childish’s tunes. But since ’94 Golightly has also had a for-real solo career, and these days her original songs–crude, playful blues stompers, wicked and embittered country dirges, 60s girl-group punk ditties–outnumber the covers three to one. On the new Slowly but Surely (Damaged Goods) her warm, pensive vocals fly low over a backdrop of bottleneck guitar, brushed drums, velvety upright bass, and liquid organ (courtesy of someone billed as “the Bongolian”)–the whole thing sounds like the Dolly Mixture playing a woozy barn dance with the Doors.
