Dyke rock diehards: the Butchies mix a raw sound with life-affirming lyrics on their polished but raucous new CD.

Make Yr Life * The Butchies Yep Roc Records

In this age of 80-minute recordable CDs, one might be tempted to feel slightly shortchanged by The Butchies' latest 10-track, 30-minute disc, Make Yr Life. Fans of the North Carolina-based trio, however, will not only be accustomed to the brevity of the dyke rock heartthrobs' albums--none of their previous three efforts were longer than 38 minutes--but will also likely celebrate the fact that Kaia Wilson, Melissa York, and Alison Martlew are undisputed masters of the two-to three-minute power-punk anthem.

Make Yr Life doesn't offer any big surprises, but it's notable as their most professionally produced album to date. It features more of the same basic formula that's won them critical nods and a loyal fan base since their 1998 start--unapologetic, emotionally charged lyrics about girl-on-girl love, Wilson's sweet yet aching vocals, Martlew's driving bass lines, and York's thunderous danceable beats--but this new release is even more catchy, consistent, and studio-polished than anything they've done before.

Most of the disc features song structures that tread familiar territory, opening gently with Wilson's oft-cracking voice and then swelling with energy, eventually ripping at the seams with full-throttle abandon. The Butchies' sound ain't broke, and they ain't fixin' it.

Tracks like "She's So Lovely" and "Trouble" typify said formula, with melodic vocals that crescendo into sing-along choruses and hooky guitar licks that intermingle with soaring power chords. For variety's sake there are a few mellower numbers, like the midtempo "Everything + Everywhere," which begins with Wilson crooning softly over gently plucked guitar strings. There's even an outright ballad: the album-closing, surprisingly tender, and only slightly ironic cover of the Outfield's '80s anthem "Your Love," which was stripped down in the studio from the more frenzied version that's a staple of the Butehies' live sets.

Lyrically, the title track sums up the carpe diem theme the band hopes listeners get out of this album: "Make your life souls and stars / Swimming with dogs and fish and sharks / Fake your fear fake face / Fake your fear." It's a feel-good affirmation repeated again on "Second Guess": "Fake the fear face the fear / Flying high and sinking low / I'm not what you think / I am exactly what I want." The sentiment indicates lessons learned as well as a newfound self-determination and maturity for these three songsters from the South that're sure to maintain their position at the top of the dyke rock heap.

Coble is a freelance writer who pens the self-syndicated music column Stereo Homo.