By Anthony Mark Happel

This is a five-song EP by an all-female foursome that could stand to be a lot more fearsome. Founding members, Mandy Aramouni and Jovana Batkovic, (Batkovic emigrated from Bosnia at eleven) hooked up and formed the nucleus of Hotchacha, and they “…drank beer, peed in a trash can and wrote music for three months.”

What they came up with is, shall we say, not absolutely overwhelming. The opening track, “J’accuse” is good. It’s a fairly frenetic number with ringing guitars and a good vocal line, but it’s not quite dirty enough. And it’s the best song of the bunch. Where’s the edge? Where’s the distortion?

“It’s Hard To Be A Whiteboy In 1992” is quirky and jittery enough to make it appealing the first time you hear it, but after that you fall back on the opening song. And what a silly name for a band. Nice cover art and photography, though.