• Artist: Team Dresch
• Flags: Contains explicit content
• Rating:
• Styles: Queercore, Riot Grrrl, Punk Revival
• Track Picks: "Fake Fight," "Growing up in Springfield," "She's Amazing"
• Similar Albums: A Truckload of Trouble: 1986-1993, Satiate, Encendedor, Tough Guy Problem, Bee Thousand, Strangers from the Universe, File Under: Easy Listening, Tortoise, Punk in Drublic, Too High to Die, Pop Tatari, Cats & Dogs, Sexy Pee Story, Love Songs for the Retarded, Ignition

Review

Of all the punk records to come out of the 1990s, Personal Best comes closest to actually recapturing the sheer passion and rage which originally spawned the movement two decades earlier; where other bands whine on endlessly about running out of beer money or losing the right to skateboard in the park, Team Dresch confront real issues -- bigotry, oppression, religion, self-worth -- with a sense of conviction and immediacy that lays to waste everything in their path. For an album that lasts less than 25 minutes, Personal Best is a draining, relentless experience -- it explodes on contact, the cumulative result of years of pent-up anger, frustration and desperation finally allowed release. What distinguishes Team Dresch from the vast majority of their queercore compatriots is that they never put their politics ahead of their songs -- each of these ten tracks is airtight, with melodies as blistering as the lyrics. And while some songs are explicitly polemical -- "Hate the Christian Right!" would undoubtedly send Ralph Reed into apoplectic fits -- and others like "Growing Up in Springfield" are deeply personal, there's ultimately no separating the two; Personal Best is above all a call-to-arms, which in the end is exactly what a great punk record should be. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	iTunes	Composers	Performers	Time
Fagetarian and Dyke			Team Dresch	(2:45)
Hate the Christian Right!			Team Dresch	(2:35)
She's Crushing My Mind			Team Dresch	(1:42)
Freewheel			Team Dresch	(1:39)
She's Amazing			Team Dresch	(3:03)
Fake Fight			Team Dresch	(3:07)
#1 Chance Pirate TV			Team Dresch	(3:04)
D.A. Don't Care			Team Dresch	(2:21)
Growing up in Springfield			Team Dresch	(2:19)
Screwing Yer Courage			Team Dresch	(1:40)

Credits

Margarita (Photography), John Goodmanson (Producer), Team Dresch (Producer), Team Dresch (Main Performer), Team Dresch (Design), Team Dresch (Cover Design), Jody Coyote (Bass), Jody Coyote (Guitar), Jody Coyote (Vocals), Donna Dresch (Bass), Donna Dresch (Guitar), Peter Hawkinson (Package Production), Kaia Kangaroo (Guitar), Kaia Kangaroo (Vocals), Neilson Abeel (Photography), Marci Martinez (Drums)