LIVE: Wolf Girl, Charmpit & Sex Jokes @ Rough Trade Nottingham, 15.11.18

A Fan Club show is always a treat not only for being brilliantly curated, but for its ‘everyone welcome’ party vibe. Tonight we’re getting three acts who give out summer-esque sounds about winter-cold feelings, and back up that sense of belonging by adding to a tribe made of those who don’t comfortably fit.

Opening tonight is Derby’s Sex Jokes – one of the many musical guises of Shelley Jane Newman (also of Mighty Kids) – who has been one of my favourite acts to debut this year, and with each performance I’m a little more deeply in love. The set opens with ‘Talk’, the only track available online, a power pop anthem with voluminous guitar and “bored-of-your-bullshit” vocals. It brings in influences from Rilo Kiley to Jucifer, Tacocat to Pillow Queens, but the result is recognisable as being very much Sex Jokes’ own sound.

Charmpit are, well, charming. With laid-back chat between songs and a definite surf-pop vibe, they bring the sunshine and some gorgeous dual-harmonies which evoke the best of ‘60s sound. Recent single ‘Squirrel Vision’ and ‘Summer Up My Skirt’ mix the rough-edged guitar with the back and forth mid-song chat of The Shangri-Las, before the chants break back in. It’s the mix of the punk attitude of The Slits with the harmonies and sing-a-long hooks of The Ronettes which make Charmpit instantly recognisable and irresistibly catchy.

Charmpit

Headlining are Wolf Girl – and while the two opening acts have set the bar high, they vault it with ease with a set consisting of the best from new album Every Now and Then. These songs are full of determination and vulnerability, intelligent lyrics that are relatable, not aloof, and melodies that cut through you in the best possible way.

There’s plenty of West Coast surf-pop here too, and the sort of wistful melancholy wrapped in jangling melody that Upset and The Muffs have, but it’s the lyricism which sticks with you. Lines like, “Don’t want to get to thirty without learning to drive / Don’t want to look back having felt barely alive” become visceral through their resonance rather than through the words themselves, and while slacker-pop and problematic adulting are dealt with, so are themes of identity and love; making this a set of songs unafraid of the big and small details of life.

Most of all, Wolf Girl, like Charmpit and Sex Jokes before them tonight, are about belonging even when you feel you don’t belong. All three bands are suave and scrappy, giving a night full of 60’s pop-influenced hooks with the sweetness razor-edged by grating guitars, and wry but honest lyrics sung in dual-vocals to amplify the personal and political. These are our experiences echoed back from the stage, these are our thoughts and feelings honed into three minute punk pop chunks that make the heart soar and the feet dance. This gig, these bands, are the sound of the new underground and the real punk spirit and tonight they delivered in style.

Words: Sarah Lay
Photo Credit: Sarah Lay

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PREMIERE: Noise Noir – ‘I Don’t Need You’

Defiant vocals and devious, fuzzy guitar riffs combine with slick style on Noise Noir‘s debut single ‘I Don’t Need You’. The London-based band have shared the track ahead of their release show at Dalston’s Rocksteady this Friday 23rd November with We Can Do It Records.

The garage rockers have been cutting their teeth on the live circuit since January, playing gigs alongside Saint Agnes, Table Scraps & Ms Mohammed, as well as performing for us at our GIHEs live night at The Finsbury Pub too. Speaking about the new single, vocalist Kelly Chard explains: “‘I Don’t Need You’ is about realizing that you’re strong enough to be on your own without a partner, and that you shouldn’t settle for anything less than amazing. As a romantic, I had always yearned for the feeling of being in love and although it’s something I really wanted, it wasn’t something I needed to be who I am and to get through the life experiences I’ve had.”

Noise Noir’s statement-making debut is made all the more biting with the help of Hermitage Works Studios Producers Margo Broom and Nathan Ridley, and the mixing & mastering skills of Sit Down’s Greg Burns. Bassist Elis Sarv, Guitarist Anthony Hill & Drummer Davide Marini provide the perfect grunge-fueled back-drop for Kelly to dismantle the crowd’s perceptions with her fiery vocals.

You can buy your copy of ‘I Don’t Need You’ (with b/side ‘Creeping’) on limited edition glitter cassette at Noise Noir’s free launch show this Friday (RSVP here). We’ll be there supporting and spinning some excellent Riot Grrrl tunes on the decks. Listen to the single below and follow Noise Noir on Facebook for more updates.

Noise Noir 2018 Live Dates
23rd November – The Rocksteady, Dalston (London)
30th November – Sticky Mikes Frog Bar (Brighton)


Photo Credit: Jessie Morgan

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: KÁRYNN – ‘Segment & The Line’

Atmospheric, ambient, and sharply produced: multidisciplinary artist, composer and vocalist KÁRYYN has shared her latest single ‘Segment & The Line’. The track is part of Quanta 11:11, a double-A-side release comprised of this single, and ‘Today, I Read Your Life Story 11:11’. KÁRYYN has also announced her signing to Mute, and that she’ll be releasing her debut album in 2019.

Fueled by grief, self-discovery, love, quantum physics, and the impact humans have on each other – KÁRYYN’s music spans a variety of themes and genres, making it all the more interesting. Speaking about the new track, she explains: “When this song came out of me, it came out in one go. Like a crow flying deep into the forest in order to bring out the jewels, I had to enter that darkness to discover the truth.” ‘Segment & The Line’ muses on impermanence and the reality of facing the consequences of our actions – something we can all relate to.

We’re looking forward to hearing more of KÁRYYN’s altruistic sounds. Listen to ‘Segment & The Line’ below and follow her on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Derek Hutchison

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: Ruby Throat – ‘Stone Dress’

Far removed from her Riot Grrrl days fronting Daisy Chainsaw and Queen Adreena, Katie Jane Garside has returned under the moniker of Ruby Throat, with her brand new album Stone Dress (released via One Little Indian on 9th November). Garside has firmly remained a Grrrl at the front on her new venture; but everything else is stripped back, turned down, and mellowed out – revealing her softer side.

“After ten, fifteen years, I was done with the assault of drums and guitars obliterating me” explains Garside. “[It’s] a beautiful thing, on the one hand, but I enforced on Ruby Throat that it should be mainly acoustic, and there should be no drums. I wanted the voice to lead it, without being held down by someone else’s rhythm.” Accompanied by her long-time partner Chris Whittingham, Garside achieves just that on Stone Dress.

The title track showcases her gentle, wispy vocals which flow over carefully picked guitar for seven full minutes. The opener has particular significance for Garside, as she wrote it whilst pregnant with her daughter – which explains the cautious, dark-lullaby quality of her lyrics: “My stone dress is me walking through the world, weighed down by the agony of life, but I’m swimming with birds because, in utero, I’ve got a baby inside”.

The mythical sounding ‘Swan and the Minotaur’ follows like a haunting fable, with the relatable lyric “I’m in love with a troubled man” repeated in heartfelt style. ‘Also Elizabeth Daughter Of The Above’ is another fairytale-esque offering, with Garside’s wild wails counteracted by her softer, story-telling. The exquisitely rough ‘Dog Song’ is definitely one of the strongest tracks on the record, with brash lyrics and an infectious rhythm, allowing Garside to master her quiet-to-loud vocal delivery perfectly, whilst Whittingham’s reverb-strewn guitar guides her along.

‘Bus Stop On Holloway Road’ hosts tender reflections on time and place, people and their situations, whilst following track ‘Beneath My Undress’ is an understated, revealing ballad. ‘In The Arms Of Flowers’ sounds as poetic as its namesake, with Garside’s whispers lulling listeners through their “darkest hour”, and the wonderfully named ‘Marybell (rides Into Town On A Pig)’ has unusual swagger for an acoustic track, with the pair’s musical and lyrical convictions painting a vivid image of Marybell astride her chosen beast.

Garside gathers her thoughts on ‘Rake’, before her hushed vocals on ‘Billows Her Skirt’ act like the breeze that moves the fabric of her garments – her harmonies rising and falling in sublime style. Penultimate track ‘Hu’u’ flows in the same vein, before ‘Ghost Boy’ closes the record on an ethereal, tuneful note.

Existing fans of Katie Jane Garside’s music will be stunned by her simplistic approach on Ruby Throat’s debut Stone Dress, and new fans will be entirely captivated by her honest, intriguing new venture. Well worth a listen.

Order your copy of Ruby Throat’s debut album Stone Dress here.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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