Eyeliners

Monday, March 24; Creepy Crawl

Comments (0) By Jess Minnen Wednesday, Mar 19 2003

Three is indeed a magic number, and no band personifies the old Saturday-morning aphorism quite like the Eyeliners. Though they fit the standard pop-punk mold -- three instruments playing mostly three-chord songs that clock in at less than three minutes -- they have no qualms about breaking it.

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In addition to the obvious obstacle of being in a band composed of three sisters, the Eyeliners hail from New Mexico, not exactly a bastion of punk rock. Bassist Lisa and guitarist Gel, unable to find a punk drummer in suburban Albuquerque, recruited their sister Laura for the job and started rocking in 1995. The group brings a triple dose of femme to punk's male-dominated landscape with tunes so catchy you'll swear you've heard them before. Though obviously influenced by the likes of Screeching Weasel and Rancid, the girls are talented enough to use pop-punk's innate familiarity as a starting point without allowing it to become a creative barrier. Comparisons to the Donnas are inevitable, but the Eyeliners move more within the realm of pogo-stick pop, a dynamic that can only be properly expressed by their explosive stage presence. The sisters perform like firecrackers set off in a room.

Don't let the short skirts and the fact that they're named after a cosmetic lead you astray. With three albums under their belt already, the Eyeliners are out to prove that good things really do come in threes.