Bleached – Can You Deal?

Bleached Beautifully Combat Social Norms with New EP

The Los Angeles punk rock quartet Bleached are keeping the ball rolling from their previous album, Welcome the Worms, with a brilliant four-track EP, Can You Deal?. The new EP is accompanied by a zine, also titled Can You Deal?, featuring essays, poetry, lyrics and other art from members of Bleached along with several other badass women, including Liz Phair, Hayley Williams, Alice Glass, Tegan Quin and Kate Nash, to name only a few. As if that weren’t enough to scream “girl power,” all the proceeds gained from zine purchases will go to Planned Parenthood. The entirety of this EP metaphorically roars with this one question: can you deal with women playing rock ‘n’ roll?

Can You Deal? is an EP fueled by all the ongoing frustration that comes with being constantly labeled as a “girl band” or referred to as “female-fronted,” with four anthems that go against just that. The EP is jam-packed with powerful drums, hard and loud guitar chords and vocals by sisters Jennifer and Jessica Calvin that are beyond compare.

In the title track and first song of the EP, the listener is immediately greeted with rage, uptempo guitar and, most of all, rock ‘n’ roll. Everything in “Can You Deal?” seems to carry the energy and liveliness straight from their live shows into listeners’ ears — its juicy, raw, hard and calls for nothing less than a mosh pit. Their next track, “Flipside,” is three minutes of relaxation with mellow rhythms and soft voices echoing the troubles of being a “basket case that no one would embrace.”

The last two tracks, “Turn to Rage” and “Dear Trouble,” wrap it up immaculately with a message that tells listeners that Bleached will no longer hold back and they are what they are: a rock band, not a girl band. These tracks are crisp and angry, making listeners feel as if they’re in a dark, sweaty venue crammed with moshers, cigarettes and extremely loud music. Overall, Can You Deal? will urge you to get up off your couch and confront whatever comes your way.