Anthology 1982-1985

Super Heroines, that gloriously warped gothic female death squad, finally have their proper dues, having been a seminal part of the Los Angeles goth scene in the '80s, best-documented on the 1981 Time Bomb label's compilation Hell Comes to Your House, Vol. 1. The Cleopatra label previously issued Love and Pain, a Super Heroines compilation that acted as both a best-of and a rarities collection, featuring tracks from the band's unreleased third album. (One wonders why they didn't make Anthology a double disc and put that one in this set -- with compilation tracks -- and make it a complete discography?) In any case, the label slaps both of their issued albums -- Cry for Help and Souls That Save -- on a single disc, Anthology, offering more Super Heroines than anyone outside of Southern California would ever need. That said, this band were great extensions of what the Runaways had begun with their protean incursions into riot grrrl rock, and added plenty of muscle, dark imagination, and stylish flair to the otherwise dreary death rock scene in L.A. ~ Thom Jurek