Alternative Press Magazine

December 1993

Lava Diva are an arty band with sweet and sour roots in both the Lydia Lunch and screaming women schools of female vocalists. “Vertigo” slinks in on dark and spooky guitar driplets as a female vocalist half whispers her tale of beloved enemies and body piercings before the track explodes into a high and hard plod through a warped memoryfield of heartache and settles back catlike into the deceptive calm of their warped guitar. “Imago Dei,” on the other side of their 7-inch single, is more in a 10,000 Maniacs mold but also relies on the arty contrasts of hard/soft and the tension of the transitions between the two, to wring its energy out of the band’s soul and into your ears.