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Ho Ho Who: The former guitarist of defunct punk legends The Slits, Viv Albertine, recently started strutting her solo stuff via Thurston Moore‘s Ecstatic Peace! label. She’s lately been performing a track titled “Confessions of a MILF” about the expectations heaped on suburban mothers, and she gave it the ole seasonal tweak for a free online release.
THE SHORT VISIT HOME: Like its musical predecessor, the song builds slowly with talk of domestic responsibilities and pressures—-until the discussion of cooking and cleaning becomes increasingly panicked, resulting in a homemaking fail. Manic, ominous music grows underneath until it all culminates with a claustrophobic climax about hating home.
THE LOOOOOONG VISIT HOME: The ex post facto addition of “at Christmas!”—- inserted after every utterance of “home sweet home”—-feels both gratingly cheerful and awkwardly forced (though catchy!). As the track turns dour, the chipper exclamation makes for an all-the-more-creeptastic finale, but it doesn’t exactly leave the Sleigher feeling cheered.
CHEER FACTOR: 4/10. While it may speak to your deep-seated holiday and/or general suburban frustrations in heavy and even potentially valuable ways, it may also just freak you out.
LISTEN: