Reviews
29 Apr 2012
Review | Uh Huh Her
After being controversially dropped by their label, Uh Huh Her are back with their self-produced second album Nocturnes, and the girls are wait in keen anticipation of the last night of their UK tour. The band is fronted by lesbian royalty Leisha Hailey (best known to us as the quirky, loveable Alice Pieszecki from groundbreaking TV series ‘The L Word’) and her bandmate and girlfriend - the multifaceted Camila Grey. Intrigue surrounds the couple and the almost entirely female audience give them a rapturous welcome. Silhouetted against the stage lights, their complementary quality exudes a quiet magnetism, and Camila’s brooding eyes peer from beneath her bowler hat while Leisha remains partially hidden behind a coy veil of hair, surfacing occasionally to give a broad, beaming smile. (more...)
28 Apr 2012
Review | Sick of Sarah
Sick of Sarah, Evarose + Kate's Party @ The Borderline, 23 May Returning to the scarlet-lit depths of The Borderline, with its extensive wine list of red or white, the girls are were excited to see Sick of Sarah headline the night before they were due to support Uh Huh Her at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Also in the line up were Oxfordshire born and bred, Evarose and punk band, Kate’s Party. (more...)27 Apr 2012
Review | Big Joan
The Long Slow Death of Big Joan, Big Joan, March 2012 In the honoured and blessed world of new music there is always a Big Joan, a band who sounds as fresh, inspired and committed as the first gig/album – ten years ago. Likely they have been a major force in a scene in a city-near-you with their slapping bass-lines, intense, driving drum beats and chugga-chug guitars, a held-together-with-tape keyboard/synthesiser, and all those zig-zag rhythms messing with empathy and expectations in an almost jazz-related way. (more...)25 Apr 2012
Review | Chairlift
Something, Chairlift, Young Turks, 23 January. Anyone wishing for a return to the Eighties need look no further than Something. The influence is clear in Chairlift’s second album, which sees a shift from the sunshine pop of 2008’s Does You Inspire You to a sound that is darker and more soulful, drawing on artists like the Bangles and Sinead O’Connor. Now a two-piece, the departure of their bandmate Aaron Pfenning led to remaining members Caroline Polacheck and Patrick Wimberley’s music deepening and maturing. Something exhibits a greater musicality (despite their reduced numbers) and a heavier reliance on their use of electronic music. (more...)20 Apr 2012
Review | Jessie J
Photographed by Laura Palmer for the girls are. Jessie J @ the Royal Albert Hall, 1st April Jessie J play’s host tonight at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, with her show being fifth in a seven night run for the cause. However it is not the first time she has graced this stage in aid of the dedicated charity, last year she was here supporting Tinie Tempah on his headline slot. The jump from support act to headliner show's just how far Jessie has come in just a year, still willing to throw her considerable rising star behind a great and worthy cause. (more...)18 Apr 2012
Review | Soap & Skin
Photographed by Wunmi Onibudo for the girls are.
Soap & Skin Ensemble @ Scala, London. 11 April 2012
Soap & Skin is Anja Plaschg, tonight performing with the Soap & Skin Ensemble. There are different types of sadness, just as there are different shades of colour in the sky at night, just as there are different palettes of sound that can be wrung from a piano. Plaschg has recently lost her father. ‘Vater’, a track on her new record Narrow, pays tribute to him. It’s sung in German so thegirlsare can’t understand the lyrics but the emotion comes clearly through when she plays ‘Vater’ tonight. Plaschg has to pause for a minute after playing this evidently deeply personal song. This tells the story of the Soap & Skin set tonight – moments of such interspersed with hesitations and pauses. The songs which are so compulsively tight on record feel less cohesive live: but these songs are so sad that the occasional ragged edge adds authenticity to Plaschg’s performance. (more...)
15 Apr 2012
Review | Laura Gibson
Photographed by Steve Watts for the girls are. Laura Gibson @ the Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 12 April 2012 The atmosphere tonight at the Brudenell is a relaxed one, with tables and chairs dotted around the usual dance floor, already full of expectant faces eager to see two of Yorkshire’s new young female singer-songwriters performing alongside Portland singer, Laura Gibson, tonight. (more...)13 Apr 2012
Review | Po’Girl
Photographed by Jeff G for the girls are. Po’ Girl @ The Borderline, London, 4th April The Borderline is a small and atmospheric venue situated on a nondescript corner of Charing Cross Road. The Girls Are eventually arrive, albeit a little flustered from reading unhelpful Google map directions and starving from lack of sustenance. After sneaking down the flight of stairs leading to the cavern-like stage area, we calmed ourselves by nursing a £3.50 mini pizza and a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Once we became adjusted to the dimly lit surroundings, we spotted a tiny and familiar figure in the middle of an imitation brawl with a member of the crowd; this petite person was, we eventually identified, Awna Teixeira, one half of the Po’ Girl duo. (more...)11 Apr 2012
Review | Riot Grrrl Night, Bristol
Photographed by Emily Barker for the girls are. Personal Best, Drunken Butterfly, Bellies!, Crash Paris, The Hysterical Injury @ The Tunnels, Bristol, 5 April 2012 By just a few years, the girls are missed out on going to riot grrrl gigs first time around, which has always been a bone of contention. (Especially since a lot of my early live music ‘experiences’ as a young teen involved watching hairy, arrogant boys thrashing around - boring.) However, tonight’s riot grrrl gig at The Tunnels, a suitably underground venue, takes it upon itself to mentally transport us to the grrrl-positive, DIY mindset of the early nineties. With Bristol and Bath being home to so many brilliant women bands and musicians, it certainly makes sense to get together and celebrate them ahead of the upcoming Bristol Ladyfest in July. (more...)8 Apr 2012
