Combining the brazenness of Riot Grrrl with the angst dirge of grunge, Team Dresch didn’t just raise the stakes of queercore: They created two near-perfect albums about longing, freedom, and belonging over guitar riffs as epic and intense as Jody Bleyle and Kaia Wilson’s poetic couplets. On their 1995 debut, Personal Best, they rage against the Christian right and small towns, then kiss their girlfriends on the mouth. Donna Dresch, Bleyle, and Wilson play ferocious, intricate riffs fast while Marcéo Martinez hits the drums hard. To paraphrase their own song, they are amazing; their words save us.
