My Weapon is definitely an album you could file under guilty pleasures, but you don't need to feel guilty for simply loving it either.
The Applicators play a brand of punk rock that is straight out of the mid-80s. As an all-girl band, the comparisons to early Go-Go's are unavoidable but also very apt, as are the inevitable comparisons to the Runaways. The moments where frontwoman Sabrina Applicator perfectly mimics Bow Wow Wow's Annabella Lwin also need to be mentioned. Once those references are out of the way it can be said that these Texas ladies rise up and beyond the novelty of being an all-girl band; they simply play in-your-face trashy punk that is firmly rooted in '80s pop.
All 12 tracks on this album are gems, and the Applicators seem to have found the perfect balance of sound and production. The attitude and swagger of punk rock is evident, and the songs are all hook-heavy and addictive, poppy without ever being slickly over-produced into bubblegum pop punk.
It's tough to even choose standout tracks on the album, but if pressed for the best, I'd go with the chunky riffs and relentless frenzy of "Bad Infection", followed by any of the tracks that beg that Go-Go's comparison, like the poppier tracks "Obvious" and "Hello"; tracks that seem lost in time, beamed from a college radio station in 1986, and just now turning up.
As Sabrina sings on "I Need You", this is a band that's "pretty, pink and punk," but the emphasis is definitely on the third word there. It's solid punk rock that wears all its influences like badges of pride, and it's refreshing and retro at the same time. On My Weapon, the Applicators don't bring anything new to the table, but what they do bring is tried, true and tasty.
