A Raw Youth

A Raw Youth is the third album by Mexican band Le Butcherettes, released on September 18, 2015 via Ipecac Recordings^[2]

A Raw Youth
Studio album by Le Butcherettes
Released	September 18, 2015
Recorded	2015
Genre	Punk rock, indie rock
Length	41:18
Label	Rodriguez Lopez Productions, Ipecac[1]
Producer	Omar Rodríguez-López
Le Butcherettes chronology
Cry Is for the Flies (2014) A Raw Youth (2015) bi/MENTAL (2019)
Singles from A Raw Youth
"Shave the Pride" Released: October 30, 2015[2]

Lyrics and themes

The album examines themes of personal and social oppression.^[3]

"Shave the Pride" originated as a diatribe against Gender Bender's bearded lover hiding behind "masses of hair". After rewrites, the song's "outrage and frustration" became directed against society's "unwillingess to view all perceptions of [a] story... hiding behind the mass media."^[4]

"La Uva” uses a symbol of a grape to represent "a fragile being that can be stepped on. But, the ink from its body stains and is seen by other people."^[3] It was originally recorded by Bosnian Rainbows, but remained unreleased. The studio version by Le Butcherettes samples the Bosnian Rainbows version.^[5]

"Sold Less Than Gold" was partially inspired by Gender Bender's trip to Iran. According to her, "the song was written with women from the Middle East in mind - women that were being sold from their family to strangers. Being raped and mutilated."^[3] It's about "women (...) sold into marriages or into sex slavery and how resilient their spirits are.”^[6]

"The Hitch Hiker" plays out a call-and-response between a hitchhiker and the man who picks her up. The situation escalates into kidnapping and murder.^[6]

"My Half" deals with "finding closure with the loss of an unjust death."^[7]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Consequence of Sound	B−[6]

A Raw Youth received generally favorable reviews.^[8]

Consequence of Sound's Karen Gwee wrote that the album "marks Le Butcherettes’ triumphant entrance to the mainstream rock arena, accomplished with no compromise to their identity."^[6]

Track listing

All music and lyrics written by Teri Gender Bender.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Shave the Pride"	2:37
2.	"My Mallely"	3:37
3.	"Reason to Die Young"	3:41
4.	"La Uva" (feat. Iggy Pop)	3:34
5.	"Sold Less Than Gold"	2:01
6.	"Stab My Back"	4:09
7.	"They Fuck You Over"	2:19
8.	"Witchless C Spot"	3:58
9.	"The Hitch Hiker"	2:48
10.	"Lonely & Drunk"	3:44
11.	"Oil the Shoe If the Critter Knew Any Better"	4:11
12.	"My Half" (feat. John Frusciante)	4:39
Total length:		41:18

Personnel

Le Butcherettes^[10]

• Teri Gender Bender - vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Chris Common - drums
• Jamie Aaron Aux - bass

Additional musicians^[10]

• Iggy Pop - guest vocals on "La Uva"
• John Frusciante - guitar & synth bass on "My Half"
• Deantoni Parks - verse drums on "La Uva"
• Marcel Rodríguez-López - percussion & bass (Moog) synth on "Stab My Back" and "Lonely & Drunk"

Production^[10]

• Omar Rodríguez-López - producer
• Jon DeBaun, Joe Galdo & Hart Gunter - engineering
• Chris Common - engineering, mixing and mastering
• Mackie Osborne - design and layout