''Nemesisters'' is the third and final

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

recorded by Babes in Toyland. It was produced by Tim Mac, and released in 1995 by

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

Recording

The album was recorded under engineer and producer Tim Mac at AmRep Studios in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. Unlike on the group's previous releases, they opted to record together to capture a "live band" sound; on their previous release, ''

Fontanelle A fontanelle (or fontanel) (colloquially, soft spot) is an anatomical feature of the infant human skull comprising soft membranous gaps ( sutures) between the cranial bones that make up the calvaria of a fetus or an infant. Fontanelles allow ...

'', bassist Maureen Herman had recorded her bass tracks separately from vocalist-guitarist Kat Bjelland and drummer Lori Barbero. The recordings were split into two different sessions. Portions of the album had been written while the band was on tour in Europe. In a March 1995 interview with Barbero, she said the band would likely "be working on the album until Christmas."

Critical response

Tom Sinclair of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' wrote of the album: "Believe it or not, these Minneapolis ragecore queens have toned down their maximum-stridency shtick a tad, delivering an album that at times actually skirts power pop (check out "Sweet ’69"). The result is still fairly punishing, but there’s a reward for listeners who stick it out to the last cut: a killer version of Sister Sledge’s "We Are Family." Lorraine Ali of '' Spin'' wrote: "With ''Nemesisters'', Babes in Toyland's molten core seems to have somewhat solidified; this album ultimately lacks the conviction, depth, and even direction of its predecessors." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

noted that "most of the raw, slashing guitars of their early records are gone, replaced by a pulsing, plodding grind that never catches fire ... the majority of the album is simply dull, recycled riffs and rhythms, and that is hard to forgive."

Track listing

Personnel

* Kat Bjelland

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Maureen Herman

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, vocals ,

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

* Lori Barbero

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, vocals

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control Babes in Toyland (band) albums 1995 albums Reprise Records albums