AVOID ONE THING - CHOPSTICK BRIDGE

What do you get when you take vanilla extract, a bag of glitter, and a decapitated Barbie doll head, and microwave it all for seven minutes? A freakin\' mess, that\'s what you get. What do you get when you take guitar-slinging Amy Griffin, drummer boy John Lynch, and former Mighty Mighty Bosstones bassist Joe Gittleman? Well, I\'ll tell you: you get Avoid One Thing, and their sophomore effort, Chopstick Bridge.
Chopstick Bridge begins with the start-and-stop power chord chug of \"Armbands And Braids\", which introduces you to Gittleman\'s voice-- a low, raspy quality with a dash of Sid Vicious snarl. This surge of gritty punk rock continues until the fourth track shows the diversity of Amy Griffin’s guitar playing in \"A Lot Like This\", which layers acoustic simplicity with twang-laden lead guitar. Again, diversity rears its multifaceted head in the Pixies-ish \"Next Stop Is The Last Stop\", which capitalizes on the vocal collaboration of Griffin and Gittleman.
Overall, Chopstick Bridge is a slow burn. The catchy punk songs get your toes tapping, but it\'s the female/male vocal juxtaposition and softer, sober songs that adhere to your brain and take up residence there for quite some time. The only complaint I have is in the vocals of Joe Gittleman, which become somewhat predictable after a while. In the end, though, the final product outlives this one qualm.
Avoid One Thing’s Chopstick Bridge is definitely one album you don’t want to avoid. In fact, you should coddle with and embrace it sweetly. Or... um... you could just listen to it.