Mess Up the Mess, You Remind Me of Summer Vacation

Mess Up the Mess is a hysterical faux-“riot grrl” band from D.C. whose jangly brand of “messcore” reminds me of a prison break from the kitten pound. The music’s mostly in a Buzzcocks-cum-Pixies style, but the harpsichord/keyboard accompaniment truly completes the package of cyberpunk virtual attack. As far as D.C. grrl punk bands go, Mess Up the Mess is very nice. Listening to this album is like watching the Power Puff Girls — sure, there’s innuendo, but with the cheeky lyrics, sung by Jeanni, and relatively clean melody backing from the rest of the group, there’s still a reasonably commercially appealing excitement. The great thing about this band is that the band members use it as an outlet to release their angst in a cheerful manner, which makes for a fun, refreshing dose of irony.