Lesbian: More Than Just an Eye-Catching Band Name

I’ve kind of ignored Lesbian up ’til now because, well, of their name, to be honest. Not that I have anything against lesbians… but with a name like that, you just kinda figure that the band probably has nothing really going on, y’know? One might assume, in other words, that a better band wouldn’t need such an attention-grabbing moniker.

(And yes, I’m aware that there’s something hypocritical about this assertion coming from a guy who loves bands with names like Goatwhore, Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer, Prostitute Disfigurement, Lake Bukkake, and Anal Chainsaw. But all of those names have a sense of playfulness to them — like, I doubt the members of Lake Bukkake aren’t aware that their name is funny — whereas Lesbian is just…. well… it needs something else. Like, if the band had been called “Lesbian Rapist” or something, I probably would have checked them out right away.)

Of course, you should never judge a book by its cover, and Lesbian more than proves that: whether or not you like their music, there’s no denying that they’re a band of substance. Their new album, Forestelevision, is a single forty-four minute doom track… not quite as impressive as that eleven hour song by Sabazius, but still a feat, to be sure.

And to be honest, I’m not really digging it… but I also don’t hate it, and I could see a lot of you enjoying it.

That being the case, I encourage you to mosey on over to Invisible Oranges, where they’re streaming about 25% of the song. Then let us know what you think in the comments section below; I’m sincerely curious to hear if the MS community is into this or not.

Forestelevision comes out June 25 on Translation Loss.