PREMIERE: Dream Phone – ‘Bad Girls’

Having been completely blown away by Oxford duo Dream Phone when they played live for us supporting Me Rex last month, I was thrilled to hear they’ll be releasing their debut EP in May. Counting BBC Radio 6Music amongst their fans, and sharing stages with the likes of Cheerbleederz and Supermilk, the duo started off as a pop-punk guitar and drums duo, before transforming into the wonderful auto-tuned glitch-pop sensation that we know today – ready to unleash more of their utterly unique sonic delights to the world.

Taken from the EP, new single ‘Bad Girls’ offers a joyous ode to Buffy and Faith (from best TV show ever, Buffy The Vampire Slayer), celebrating friendship and discovering your “bad side” as Jenny Bell and Hannah Watts’ sparkling charisma and vibrant energy shine through. Showcasing the duo’s ability to combine quirky voice augmentation with infectious, synth-driven glitch-pop soundscapes, it harks back to the innovative layering and sampling of Kathleen Hanna’s solo Julie Ruin record; oozing a euphoric riot grrrl inspired drive, whilst maintaining Dream Phone’s trademark playful allure. Of the track, Jenny explains:

“Bad Girls is about the excitement of making a new friend who has a big influence on you, and finding your partner in crime. When we’re not jumping around in Dream Phone, we spend a lot of our downtime watching Buffy – and in the ‘Bad Girls’ episode I love that Buffy is able to cut loose with her new friendship with Faith. We originally wrote the song as a simple guitar and drums pop punk song, and recently transformed it into this new glitch-pop sound”.  

Since the immense excitement of seeing them live last month, it’s in no way an exaggeration to say that I have not stopped thinking about Dream Phone (aka my new favourite band)’s wonderfully wacky and truly original offerings, and will be hitting repeat on the glorious hype-pop tenacity of ‘Bad Girls’ for the foreseeable future.

So, don your knee-high boots and wooden stakes, watch the new video for ‘Bad Girls’, and feel instantly better about life!

The self-titled debut EP from Dream Phone is set for release on 19th May via Divine Schism.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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EP: Goth Lipstick – ‘formless, shapeless’

An EP that the band describe as “a slice-of-life isekai about the adventures of two wraiths”, formless, shapeless from San Francisco’s DIY emo duo Goth Lipstick draws you effortlessly into their candy-coated, glitch-splattered dream world. Following their full length album crystalline corset from earlier this year, formless, shapeless continues to explore themes of identity and queer liberation.

The EP consists of fairly short tracks, with most lasting less than two minutes thirty seconds. The single exception is ‘faceless, nameless’, which reaches a whole four minutes. Every track is incredibly tightly constructed. None of them feel too short; each one feels exactly long enough to tell its story and then wraps without wasting any time, leaving you with the precise impression it wanted to convey.

The collection begins with the titular ‘formless, shapeless’ – a slow, soft rumble that leads into quick, clicking percussion under high chirpy keys and husky vocals. While the tempo, energy and general style of the tracks vary, this opening song establishes some key elements early on that are consistent through the EP.

As a whole, the EP creates a distinctly unique and endlessly interesting soundscape, blending distorted and electronic sounds with gentle, clear piano notes. The relationship between the different types of sound is key to the Goth Lipstick style, with acoustic and electric notes dancing playfully around each other, with those echoing vocals floating over the top.

The use of glitches too gives these songs so much character. The jerks and digital stumbles always hit at exactly the right moment, whether that’s ripping into a vocal that’s well into its stride or distorting sounds that are just starting to build, creating a more chaotic journey from the first couple of beats.

Whilst there are massive differences in feeling from track to track, they fit so well together that they flow beautifully.

The second track, ‘wraiths awake’, brings a bigger energy into the EP. It is broadly more upbeat, but winds down into vocals that have a sense of vulnerability about them, before bouncing back into the hyped electronica.

‘identity thief’, all heavy growling, glitching bass, is followed by the light and chirpy ‘chocolate’, then the rich swollen beats of ‘fangs’, which wouldn’t be out of place heard on a nightclub dance-floor at midnight.

Somehow these seemingly conflicting songs sit very comfortably side by side on this EP. It feels much more like this is down to a matter of attitude than any one particular technical component. The songs sit so well because they feel made to be played together, and you can feel how much fun the artists had constructing every beat of the finished product.

It’s so easy to get drawn into Goth Lipstick’s story, to bathe in the cool, flowing emotions heavy in this EP. It’s not surprising to see that the first edition cassette run is already sold out.

formless, shapeless, the latest EP from Goth Lipstick, is out now. It is available to download via bandcamp.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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