A disturbingly broad array of bands have thrown in the towel in the recent past, most notably the Posies, Porno For Pyros, Veruca Salt and the Cocteau Twins. This is especially troubling when they're contrasted with still- intact groups that, for the sake of the common good and that of all humanity, need to call it a day and go somewhere far, far away (e.g., Soul Asylum, Pearl Jam, and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones). The Red Aunts joined the ranks of the disbanded with little notice earlier this year after the Lilith Fair rejected them. After seven years spent making eardrum- blowing grrl punk in the Sleater-Kinney vein, the Long Beach, CA quartet sought to exit as they entered: in a ball of fire. With the rage- ridden lyrics and guitars of Ghetto Blaster , they succeed in that capacity. Kind of.

Actually, Ghetto Blaster is spotty, inconsistent, and downright dischordant in spots. Such is the case with the psychotic "Exene" and the headache- inducing "The Things You See, The Things You Don't." Both are blown out of the water by the ferocious intensity of opener "I'm Crying," replete with the shrill howls of vocalists/ guitarists Kerry Davis and Terri Wahl. The lack of support the Aunts so often bemoaned is indeed lamentable, and it makes Ghetto Blaster not only a somber swan song, but a glimpse of potential overlooked and unfulfilled.

-Susan Moll