Track Of The Day: Art Trip and The Static Sound – ‘Feminine Hygiene Spray’

Following on from May’s ‘No Fly Zone’ single and ahead of the new album out in early 2018, Art Trip and The Static Sound have released new track ‘Feminine Hygiene Spray’.

A hypnotic and intoxicating melody snakes around the repeating and layered vocals, the title refrain repeated until it is drilled into your brain, an inescapable order. This is a more subtle take-down of patriarchal indoctrination, no less cathartic to listen to but playing more to the drone than punk end of the rock spectrum.

And that’s what make Art Trip a particularly intriguing element on the current scene; their knack for societal commentary, righteous anger and political rage but pulling from a broader musical palette than just ‘70s punk.

With a blistering stage presence that manages to be both confrontational and inclusive, the band’s recorded efforts are no less impressive, and certainly no less immediate. ‘Feminine Hygiene Spray’ shows that not all punk has to be an unexpected sharp kick, but that anger is an energy which takes many forms and revels in many sounds.

‘Feminine Hygiene Spray’ is out now for pay what you like download on Art Trip and The Static Sound’s Bandcamp page.

 

Sarah Lay
@sarahlay

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Track Of The Day: TUSKS – ‘London Thunder’ (Foals cover)

Prepare to be blown away buy Tusks‘ cover of Foals’ track ‘London Thunder’. The song is featured on her debut album Dissolve, released via One Little Indian last week, and it’s a delicate, reverb-laden, spine-tingling rendition that’s equally as good as the original recording.

Newcomer Tusks (aka Emily Underhill) writes and produces music with a melancholy but honest edge, with her simultaneously strong and fragile voice at the forefront of all that she creates. She’ll be playing at Kamio on 15th November to celebrate the launch of her new album, so make sure you grab a ticket and head down to hear this exquisite cover live.

Follow Tusks on Facebook fore more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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WATCH: Slowcoaches – ‘Complex’

Whilst it’s normal to agonise about the harassment and adversity that female musicians face in the industry, it’s even more important to organise and shout back against the injustice of it all – and that’s exactly what Slowcoaches bassist & vocalist Heather Perkins does on brand new single ‘Complex’.

Perkins has some insightful, valid  observations about the new track and we thought they were worth sharing in full below:

“The music industry really feeds toxic masculinity by putting male artists on a pedestal. ‘Complex’ is a response to the sexual assault allegations against artists that were in the press at the time I wrote it. There’s still a really dirty side to the industry – particularly with the encouragement and portrayal of male artists in rock music to god-like status. All too often, the system is adhering to an archaic, misogynistic interpretation of ‘punk’ that makes guys think they’re invincible, that they have an authority over women’s bodies.”

“It sweeps the artists up, way out of their depth and then there’s no one there to support them in dealing with this stuff in the right way when they eventually get called out. We came up with the concept of the video when we were talking about this – the idea of a split self – that there are parts of the personality that are always hidden from view. Pulling the curtain away, kind of peeling back those layers – the bright light exposing all the grubby stuff underneath.”

The single will be available this side of the new year on screen-printed 7” vinyl, backed by a cover of Fang’s ‘The Money Will Roll Right In’. The band are touring the UK over the next month, so check which date you can go to below, and learn the lyrics to ‘Complex’ in the meantime. Follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

Slowcoaches Oct/Nov 2017 Headline Tour:
18/10/2017 – UK, Liverpool – Shipping Forecast
19/10/2017 – UK, Manchester – Soup Kitchen
20/10/2017 – UK, Sheffield – The Rocking Chair
21/10/2017 – UK, Leeds – Lending Room
23/10/2017 – UK, Newcastle – Think Tank Underground
24/10/2017 – UK, Glasgow – Broadcast
25/10/2017 – UK, Nottingham – Bodega
27/10/2017 – UK, Cardiff – Clwb Ifor Bach Downstairs
28/10/2017 – UK, Exeter – Cavern – Indie Club
30/10/2017 – UK, Bristol – The Louisiana
31/10/2017 – UK, Oxford – Cellar
01/11/2017 – UK, Brighton – The Joker
02/11/2017 – UK, London – Boston Music Room

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LIVE: Dream Wife @ The Magnet, 12.10.17

On the evening after The Guardian released a report showing that sixty-nine percent of bands playing in the UK on this particular Thursday would feature no women, it’s perhaps refreshing to know that bands such as Dream Wife, a trio of women with a touring drummer, are bucking the trend. And the other bands at this gig aren’t doing too bad either – co-headliners Sløtface‘s frontwoman Haley Shea may be backed by three Sleeper-blokes but the band have been outspoken in their feminist stance; support band Peaness are an all-female trio, only making their “no really, it’s safe for work” name all the better.

The latter’s bassist Jess is clearly taking no shit, wearing a tshirt adorned with the message ‘Writing Songs is For Girls’ – for these girls in particular, you might say. Full of poppy hooks that call to mind the best of new wave, power-pop and Britpop, Peaness’ early support slot draws people away from the bar, eager to observe. There’s a grit to things here too; a lo-fi edge verging on grungy, but drawn back by some Girl Ray-style vocal harmonies. The band are breezy on-stage, ripping through a set, and their only concern seems to be making the train back to Chester. And then they’re gone, walking off-stage with guitars on their backs. It’s an ideal set for a band with all the tunes and, hopefully, a railcard or three.

After Sløtface deliver a set that’s hard-edged and spikey, Dream Wife are greeted by a dedicated group of hardcore fans. Opening with ‘Hey Heartbreaker’, the group instantly establish their abrasive punk-funk sound. Rakel is a Mark E Smith style hip priest with lyrics that are repetitive but intoned differently so that each has a fresh impact on delivery.

‘Lolita’ is the same, taking influence from the Nabokov novel but also self-referentially discussing Dream Wife’s place as women in a male-dominated world, all in just ten or so different lines. Beyond the lyrics, the band are perfectly in sync with each other, creating a hypnotic vision as Rakel’s ponytail flicks metronomically between guitarist Alice Go’s 12-string and bassist Bella’s chugging four.

It’s not all style over character though. Rakel tells an anecdote about a YouTube comment and fan favourite ‘Somebody’ is preceded by problems with a broken mic that, somehow, make the band seem all the more disarming and real. ‘Act My Age’ is a traditional punk tune in a ’77 fashion before ‘FUU’ marks the high-point in the night. It’s as riotous and fun as might be expected for a song whose lyrics mix Spice Girls references and the phrase “bad bitches”, whilst Rakel bounces from left to right like a ping-pong ball. They finish, soon after, with ‘Let’s Make Out’, and it’s hard to imagine a more fittingly joyous way to close.

Dream Wife’s merch stand is selling temporary tattoos on this tour – it’s not beyond the imagination that people may want something more permanent before too long.

John McGovern
@etinsuburbiaego

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