Thursday 31 July 2008

Fortnightly Music Round-Up (1st to 15th August)


Saturday 2nd August – A Day At The Races
OK, so this isn’t strictly a music event showcasing predominantly female talent, but it does feature a few ladies who are worth a little mention. New York-based chanteuse Nina Nastasia takes to the stage at Moho Live to perform a selection of her intricate beautifully-crafted songs, followed by twee indie-pop from Los Campesinos! a bit later on. If girl-boy vocals are your thing, then also check out Bearsuit over at Night & Day.

www.myspace.com/ninanastasia

www.myspace.com/loscampesinos

www.myspace.com/bearsuit

Details: Night & Day, Oldham St, Central Manchester

and Moho Live, Tib St, Central Manchester,
4pm, £23 (not inc. booking or handling fees)

http://www.nightnday.org/

http://www.moholive.com/



Thursday 7th August - Are Friends Eclectic: Bear-lesque Special

This new and refreshing alternative clubnight hosts a charity fundraiser for Manchester's Lesbian and Gay Foundation. Guest DJ Rod Bollox of Bollox clubnight fame will be spinning a selection of tunes as well as resident DJs Mitzi 'O' and Krybaby playing punk, new wave, indie, queercore, riot grrl and more. Visual delights are provided by Manchester-based Bear-lesque troupe, Bearly Legal. www.myspace.com/arefriendseclectic

Details: Retro Bar, Sackville St, Central Manchester

10pm to 2am, £4 (50% of door profits go to Manchester’s LGF)

Saturday 9th August - Those Dancing Days

These five sprightly Stockholm teen popstrels have been our radar for a while now, drawing us in with their infectious combination of syrupy indie-pop and up-tempo Northern Soul. We first picked up on them at the beginning of the year. Since then they've released two singles and played a rapturous, albeit sweltering gig at Night & Day. Their début album still hasn't been scheduled for a release – much to our dismay - but that hasn't stopped them from becoming darlings of the music press over the past few months. Make sure you check them out now while they're still playing intimate venues like the Roadhouse and Night & Day. www.myspace.com/thosedancingdays

Details: Roadhouse, Newton St, Central Manchester

7.30pm, £7 adv from Ticketline www.ticketline.co.uk



Saturday 9th August - Helen Of Troy Does Countertop Dancing

What's the point in having your own blog if you can't utilise it for shameless plugging?!

'So where can I go and rock my socks off after the Those Dancing Days gig?' I hear you ask. Well, to Charlies for your monthly dose of HOTDCD of course! We'll be playing a resplendent selection of top tunes by a host of lustrous ladies, including the likes of Ladytron, The Distillers, CSS, Tina Turner, Yelle, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and lots more.

www.myspace.com/helenoftroyclub

Details: Charlies, Harter St (off Princess St), Central Manchester

10pm to 4am, £4, £3 w/flyer

Monday 28 July 2008

Album Review: CSS - Donkey

When CSS burst on the scene in a flurry of sequins, feathers and dumb but cool-as-fuck lyrics, they were a beacon of play-school electro-pop fun in a sea of turgid indie and derivative nu-rave dirge. Since then, the super-sexy Brazilians have been touring relentlessly. It shows on second album Donkey, which sounds like a record made to fill contractual obligations rather than the dancefloor.

It's more calculated in its cool, less immediate, less joyous, less edgy and less memorable than it's predecessor. When I first saw CSS live I'd never even heard a single but left the venue singing their songs like I'd known them for years. After five full listens to Donkey I could barely hum a chorus. Therein lies the problem with this difficult second album. Donkey isn't bad, it's just not as good as you know they can be.

Opening track Jager Yoga bodes well. It's shouty, confrontational and fun, everything you want from Lovefoxxx and pals. From thereon in, however, it's a bumpier ride. Single Rat Is Dead (Rage) is a traditional indie track which, despite being quite sweet, lacks any real CSS chutzpa. Reggae All Night, Give Up and How I Became Paranoid are utterly forgettable. Left Behind is Off The Hook mark two, which along with the Madonna-alike Move and hypnotic Believe Achieve, is one of Donkey's better tracks.

There are glimpses of what made the Brazilian electro-poppers so good first time round. They've retained much of their delightful lyrical innocence. Unfortunately, when a line like 'I'm a black-eyed raccoon working from the moon' (Air Painter) is delivered in a too-cool-for-school drawl, it sounds contrived rather than cute. Slagging off this album feels like berating a group of teenage goths for taking themselves too seriously, however. You know deep down they want to enjoy themselves, but feel pressured into proving they've matured. Let's hope they grow out of this self-awareness soon. After all, what made CSS so ace in the first place was the fact they clearly didn't give a fuck.

6/10

Release date: 21/07/2008 Label: Sub Pop

Thursday 24 July 2008

Hello...


Welcome to our shiny new blog!
We're looking forward to filling these scarily blank pages with reviews, previews, rants and just general nonsense. We will be scouring the world to bring you news on your favourite female artists as well as letting you know about some you may not have heard of.
We won't just be staying indoors putting our PJ Harvey and Girls Aloud albums into chronological order, however, we will be out and about on the streets of sunny Mancunia going to gigs, clubs
and Fopp!
If you have any tips on who you think we should be listening to, clubs we should be going to or people we should be blogging about we would love to hear from you.

Currently listening to...
Ladytron - Velicifer
o
O
detta - Various
Moloko - Do You Like My Tight Sweater
Britney Spears - Blackout
Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning, Back Of The Van (singles)
Florence And The Machine - Kiss With A Fist (single)
The Ettes - No More Surprises
Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Santogold - Santogold