A token read-through of their press release gives the reader the impression that these female-fronted San Francisco rockers could be a deeply irritating combination of do-gooder self-help guide and production-line hipster indie clones. They boast of organising ‘guerilla-style outdoor shows’ and the singer calls herself Jean Jeanie. This is a band who decided to release their debut EP on cassette. Yep, you read that correctly, a quartet who deliberately sought out the least loved musical format in history as the medium through which to introduce themselves to the world.
Fortunately once you get past that their EP is actually fairly good, with a sound best described as Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney fronting the kind of rough garage-rock that Sonic Youth might jam on a slow day, although for something billing itself as ‘Deluxe Edition’ it sounds a long way from a finished product. An amalgam of their recent ‘Situation’ 7” single and the afore-mentioned tape-issued 5-track, the ingredients are organic and unfiltered but a little sheen might make them significantly more easily digestible.
Opener ‘Get Up or Get Out’ bolts a wobbly, highly-strung riff underneath a vocal strongly reminiscent of Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The lyrics even include a chorus of ‘heads will roll’ but it lacks the original’s glitter ball stomp. ‘<3’ has a title more suited to being absently doodled on a desk than screamed for in a crowd, but with love-lorn Best Coast-y lyrics and cooed backing vocals it’s a good slice of pastel clad, west-coast indie-pop. ‘Situation’ and ‘Yuka’ up the angst but forget the tunes.
Fortunately ‘Lockits’ named for a San Fran all-girl moped group, is a much more convincing manifesto than their press release, with a catchy blend of thumping drums, drawled backing vocals and riot-grrl attitude. The best is saved for last however. Fittingly for a group with its origins in the city which gave us both Grace Slick and Janis Joplin ‘Bad Seed’ interweaves the group’s abrasive guitar attack with swampy sixties organ parps and flourishes and allows Jean Jeanie to unleash her most convincing wild-child vocal. A promising beginning as a grittier alternative to the current lo-fi LA sound.
7.0
Max Sefton
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