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IS THIS MUSIC? REVIEW
Jet Black And Bleached
Dundee duo, Leatherettes, have been scaring and
enthralling live audiences over the last year or so.
They employ similar tools to Dirtblonde; rudimentary
percussion, jagged guitars and raw vocals but Bekka's
voice has a real sense of edginess to it. 'Asylum' builds
into a good chorus though the production sounds a little
subdued forcing me to turn up the volume several notches.
'Shoot To Thrill' is pure, unadulterated bratty punk-pop
with its howled vocal, razor sharp guitar and basic but
effective beats. Bekka sounds out on a limb as she yells
'I wanna break down barriers' before launching into the
biting but playful chorus:
You got a pistol
You shoot to kill
I've got a 45
I shoot to thrill.
Leatherettes are truly in love with the trashier end of
pop culture. '66 Miles' sounds like an unholy alliance of
Suicide with guitars and T-Rex on bad drugs.
'Mickey and Minnie' is such a wonderful, catchy
dumb song reimagining the much loved cartoon characters
as the stars of a contemporary version of Badlands as Bekka
screams and squawks 'Run, run away with me little
Mickey / Rock, rock away with me little Minnie'.
'Telephone Wires' sees the introduction of a bass guitar.
Oh the sell-outs. And it clocks in at just over five minutes,
which, in the world of the Leatherettes is akin to prog-rock.
In reality though 'Telephone Wires' has a cool groove
interspersed with economical bursts of guitar and a desperate,
panicked sounding vocal. Final song, 'You Stole The Fuck'
still reminds me obtusely of the Lounge Lizards weird take on
"Money' with its curious rhythm track and scratchy guitar
in the chorus, especially in the sparse
'You stole the fuck from me / So fuck me some more' passages. Leatherettes are… well more twisted geniuses really.
Dirtblonde and Leatherettes operate in a twilight world
where the canonical bands are not the Beatles or
Beach Boys and their heirs but the Cramps, 60s garage punk,
The Stooges, Pussy Galore, The Kills, mid 70s New York punk.
An imagined place where music can offend and inspire not simply
end up as incidental music in a mall or on football highlights.
And for this, and their winning ways with the primitive, primeval riff
and hook, I salute them. Turn up the treble and pass the
amphetamine please!
Andy Wood
Influences
suicide, whitey, jesus and marychain, the kills, bo diddley, new order, alien sex fiend, the velvet underground, andy warhol, iggy and the stooges, phil spector, johnny thunders, quentin tarantino, link wray, ike and tina turner, the sonics, royal trux, p.j. harvey, davie allen & the arrows, primal scream, le tigre, bikini kill, gravy train, the clash, the rapture, lcd soundsystem, joy division, the cure, blondie, x-ray spex, the yeah yeah yeahs, john spencer blues explosion, sonic youth, lydia lunch, peaches, elastica, the cramps...
THE LEATHERETTES R.I.P
The Leatherettes are Johnny Howl, Becca Bomb + Duncan Destruction.
The Leatherettes began in 2005.
The Leatherettes are here to rock your little world.
The Leatherettes may be a figment of your imagination...
2's UP, it's ma fuckin birthday... Free Limited Edition Print (1/50) and an 80min mix cd (1/150) to the earliest arrivals...
NOTE THAT WE ARE STARTING AT 9 THIS MONTH, TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE TREMOLO BEER GUT (all the way from Denmark) AND BIG NED (all the way from the black lodge).
Saturday - Beauty Bar Brooklyn - Djs Twig, Brenda + Co. + LIVE! SHINGOMANIA! 1 drummmaniac in 3 bands! THE RATS - BACK CC's Dual Record Release + Bon Voyage party for BABY SHAKES Euro Tour 09!!!
