Mic range: check. Four guitars: tested. Water bottles: six. Towels: five. Beers: two. In spite of this, one song centred on being a diva. A semi-solo project it may be, but Brody Dalle wouldn't be as much an irresistible force without the bombast of her three-guitarist backing cast. Wearing a bra on the outside of his T-Shirt, I was concerned whether the second male guitarist was hinting, or if it was a coincedental metaphor for the performance going tits-up. Not so.Rumbling like a tsunami, the wall-of-sound characteristic is prevalent and foreboding, and as an air pocket in the floor area fills, I take my place at the front row for this, her characterized-as-alternative-pop-punk romp post-leaving The Distillers, accompanied by Alain Johannes of Queens Of The Stone Age, Jack Irons from Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tony Bevilacqua, also late of The Distillers. It's a set that revels in punk hedonism while bringing up speckles of sludge in the midrange. The lyrics in places are oxymoronic counterpoints - "A Spectral Suspension" fastens in "Go to sleep" to begin, causing the listener an uneasy fright if not prepared for the burst of lightning that transcends the honeycomb flavouring.
"Rebellious Palpitations" is more confrontational - "Hey what's your name? Give you anything you want / Take everything you've got". "Baptized By Fire" is pure Goldfrapp circa "Train", wrenching in jittery electro bravura. Acting like a supercharged version of the Cocteau Twins on "Lullabies To Violane Vol.1", the songs are similarly refuge material, embracing their battle-scars from the past but keeping the motors visor locked to the future. Brody leans down at intervals to holler at her fans, blending an apex of slurred choreography with the wonky riffage on display.
Not unknown to acute rocking are Little Fish, supporting Spinnerette this evening. "Brody is the real deal, she has such a great voice and independent attitude that we feel blessed to be part of, and be able to watch perform every night of the tour." say Juju and Nez. "She is a true rock'n bleeder. You learn about music when you play with a band at this level, and we are grateful as it has forced us to sit up straight, not be complacent and work harder. We take note of what is needed in order to make a mark in the music world... and hopefully one day, we will be good enough to make our way through, as have Spinnerette". They do more than make a splash in comparison, their brand of two-piece, electric rock suited as the calm before the storm in this context. It's a toy box of sorts, harnessing layers of greatness on opener "Whiplash", the free-spirited sunshine pop stating "I'm fine with that" with an oomph recalling PJ Harvey. "When I first came here there was a black hole" she says on "Let Me Die Young". Hopes are high that they won't be sucked into the wilderness. What are their aspirations? "To take every day as it comes and be grateful that we are still in the running, still in the game, still learning, and still moving forward with our music. To have fun. To continue to do what we love doing - playing shows, and evolve. We have our album released out the states late October so we will be touring the US late September onwards...from there, we shall see. We also know that our album will then be released in the UK come November. Who knows what fate has in mind for us? We just keep our heads down, work hard and continue to make music that we believe in".
Download: Spinnerette on eMusic
Spinnerette: MySpace
Little Fish: MySpace
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