Get In Her Ears Live @ The Finsbury w/ CLT DRP, 14.06.19

Following a host of amazing bands playing for us lately, including Crumbs, Mammoth Penguins, ARXX, Wolf Girl and Fightmilk, we were back at The Finsbury on Friday with another dream of a line-up, for a jam-packed night of the best new music from awesome womxn.

Kicking off the night is the sparkling, ‘mummycore’ riotpop of I, Doris. Treating us to an equal balance of tongue-in-cheek lyricism and groove-filled hooks, their catchy offerings ooze an infectious joy.

Next up, Lemondaze captivate with their soaring, shoegaze sounds. A relatively new band, their scuzzy dream-like haze is utterly immersive, as their deliver each hypnotic offering with a swirling, impassioned energy, marking them out as truly impressive; definite ones to watch worthy of every success.

Penultimate band of the night, Cryptic Street, blast into our ears and eyes with their ferocious energy and magnetising charisma. As front woman Leona bounds across the stage like a feisty whirlwind, the band deliver impressive riffs, enrapturing the crowd with their buoyant spirit (and even getting one super fan up on stage with them to join in the fun). Getting crowd-pleasing down to a fine art, Cryptic Street are a true force to be reckoned with.

Headliners, Brighton’s CLT DRP, succeed in completely blowing my mind. Delivering their immense, thrashing beats, fuzz-filled whirring hooks and soaring, gritty vocals with an empowered energy, each incredible raging cacophony leaves me utterly speechless. With stand-out lyrics such as “Read my mouth, you don’t own me”, CLT DRP’s breathtaking power lies not only in their unique electro-punk sound, but in the poignant, pertinent message they convey.

HUGE thanks to the four amazing bands who made Friday night so special! We really appreciate you coming to play for us. Don’t miss our next night at The Finsbury on 12th July with incredible headliners Witching Waves! RSVP here.

Photos: Em Burfitt / @fenderqueer
Words: Mari Lane / @marimindles

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Track Of The Day: Automatic – ‘Calling It’

Automatic are Izzy Glaudini (synths, vocals), Lola Dompé (drums, vocals) and Halle Saxon (bass, vocals). They’re from LA, but their sound is straight out of early 1980s Yorkshire.

‘Calling It’, their first single, is an ear capturing listen, marked as it is by distinctive post punk stylings which include lots of echo, tinny drums and a loud, dominant synth sound, all of which are set off by deadpan vocals. It’s as though the Delta 5 have mated with the earliest incarnation of the Human League and spawned a many legged Leeds/Sheffield-based hybrid creature that is now throwing super cool shapes on the student disco dance floor. More prosaically, Izzy Glaudini speaks of the track thus:

“Its lyrics capture the sensation of being adrift in a wide-open space, and the desire to rip it all up and start over.” Destruction in art.

‘Calling It’ is out now via Stones Throw Records.

Cazz Blase
@CazzBlase

Photo Credit: Logan White

 

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ALBUM: Personal Best – ‘What You At’

The tagline (yep, it’s got a tagline!) of Personal Best’s second album, What You At, is “classic rock for tragic lesbians”. And I can’t think of a greater summary. It’s sweet and spiky, sad and uplifting. And it’s going to soundtrack a lot of break-ups.

Opener ‘Just Friends’ sets the tone. It starts out like a torch song – all acoustic guitar and raw emotion – but soon engulfs into crunchy rock riffs. The album has sadder, slower moments, like ‘Near To The Wildheart’ and closer ‘Salute’, but with front-person Katie Gatt’s powerful voice and lyrics, it remains an angry, empowering record.

Standout ‘Radio’ is a proper stomper, as is the single, ‘Baby’. When Gatt sings “I’m getting better”, backed by frenetic, punky guitars and pure pop harmonies, you really believe her. The album’s penultimate song, ‘One More Thing’, brings the record to a silly, splashy crescendo, which begs to be turned up to 11, Spinal Tap-style. I can almost picture the band playing it live, doing that classic rock, duelling guitars thing, and having an awesome time doing it.

It makes me so happy to see Personal Best stomping all over a traditionally male genre with their tongue firmly in their cheeks. As far as break-up albums go, What You At isn’t about feeling sorry for yourself. It’s the equivalent of a messy night out with the people you love. It’s sticky dancefloors and Strongbow; it’s crying on your best friend’s shoulder and putting the world to rights on the nightbus home.

A perfect fusion of wit, honest emotion and luscious harmonies, What You At will leave you elevated and ready to take on the world, break-up or no break-up.

What You At is out now via Sheer Luck Records/Dovetown Records. Order here.

Vic Conway

Photo Credit: Jennifer Doveton

 

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Premiere: Tribes Of Europe and Barbara Stretch – ‘You Don’t Speak For Me’

Following support from BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction, Fenland-based Tribes Of Europe – the alter ego of multi-instrumentalist Martin Elsey – has now teamed up with esteemed vocalist Barbara Stretch for a poignant new offering.

Provoked by the way in which the public are increasingly lied to and misled, ‘You Don’t Speak For Me’ flows with a twinkling musicality and Stretch’s soaring, ’60s pop-reminiscent vocals. Oozing a gentle romanticism alongside its empowering message, it’s an instantly catchy and uplifting retro-futuristic creation that’ll leave you ready for action, in these times when we need it most. 

Barbara Stretch would appear to be the perfect spokesperson for delivering this socially poignant message, having been a fixture in the London punk/post-punk socio-political scene of the late ’70s and early ’80s. As part of the group Jam Today, she consciously rejected the male-dominated nature of the industry in favour of creating a totally female band infrastructure – including an all-female crew, and setting up a female focused record label, Stroppy Cow. Of the new collaboration on ‘You Don’t Speak For Me’, Barbara explains:

“I was delighted when Martin asked me to sing You Don’t Speak For Me. It’s a song which, I imagine, in our present political chaos expresses how a lot of us feel.”

Listen to ‘You Don’t Speak For Me’, for the first time, here:

 

‘You Don’t Speak For Me’ is out 21st June via Integrity Records. A limited run of CDs in hand-printed packaging will feature two additional instrumental tracks – ‘Crab Marsh’ and ‘Ysma Kego​ (​Canning Factory)’ – recorded with Cambridge found-sound artist Karsten Koehler (Second Harmonic Generation).

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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