{"product_id":"hitting-the-ground","title":"Hitting the Ground","description":"Personnel: Gordon Gano (vocals); They Might Be Giants (vocals, various instruments); PJ Harvey, Mary Lou Lord, Lou Reed (vocals, guitar); John Cale (vocals, piano); Frank Black, Cynthia Gayneau, Martha Wainright, Linda Perry (vocals). Melora Creager (cello); Brendan Ryan (keyboards); Lonnie Hillyer (bass); Frank Ferrer (drums).\u003cbr\u003eProducers: Gordon Gano, Warren BRuleigh, They Might Be Giants.\u003cbr\u003eThe Violent Femmes' punk-pop underground sound gave combative nobodies a voice in the '80s and '90s, thanks to Gordon Gano's playful twist on teen angst and panting sexual frustration. Two decades later, Gano was still the indie-rock artisan when he made his solo debut with Hitting the Ground. Gano's selection of songs were exclusively written for some of his heroes, not to mention some of indie-rock's finest like They Might Be Giants, Frank Black, and Mary Lou Lord. Hitting the Ground is flat-out clever, cool, and cocky. Cymbals and two-tone percussion shimmy and shake on the album title track. PJ Harvey is an uncanny match for Gano, for her wicked vocal stomp and distorted guitar work on this surf-styled number is equally fiery to his own sarcastic rendition. His frenzied punk howl of \"Make It Happen\" sticks with the winning formula, too. Ex-4 Non Blondes frontwoman Linda Perry carries the lovelorn torch song \"So It Goes\" beautifully, while John Cale remains unruffled on the piano-driven lounge cut \"Don't Pretend.\" Gano's songwriting on these particular songs hit to the core of what we're all afraid to notice: Life sucks sometimes. He's always been painfully honest, whether he's been funny or crass about it. The funky \"Catch 'Em in the Act\" is classic Gano, with sexy, self-explanatory lyrics of male sexual adventure. Lou Reed's blues-tinged jams and sleek vocals point a finger at the paternal side of things, but humorously so. More than anything, it seems that Gordon Gano just wants to have fun. He's obviously had a blast with the Violent Femmes, but takes things in a personal direction on Hitting the Ground. What took him so long? That doesn't matter. Hitting the Ground is up to expectation and longtime Femmes fans shouldn't be surprised. ~ MacKenzie Wilson","brand":"MovieMars","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48649120317727,"sku":"711297462623","price":44.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0679\/7833\/0399\/files\/9b199e3cc3458a0e2de41274720d1b9d_6a4c0802-8c13-459c-8804-65c9c72e7811.jpg?v=1777899106","url":"https:\/\/www.moviemars.com\/products\/hitting-the-ground","provider":"MovieMars","version":"1.0","type":"link"}