Downtown Boys: Cost of Living (Sub Pop) LP | CD | DL Out now 9/10
Bilingual sax punks Downtown Boys tell us they’re here to “topple the white-cis-het hegemony and draft a new history”. Listening to their provocatively boisterous new album, Cost of Living, Cassie Fox wants to roll up her sleeves and give them a hand pushing.
The targets in Downtown Boys‘ crosshairs are clear: “racism, queerphobia, capitalism, fascism, boredom, and all things people use to try to close our minds, eyes and hearts”. The tracks on Cost of Living use commanding sloganeering, driving grooves, and catchy sax riffs to cook up one of the most apposite records of the present-day.
This is the third album from the Providence, RI band, and the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed Full Communism from 2015. Released on Sub Pop, but with production by Fugazi/Rites of Spring’s Guy Picciotto, lending a Dischord sound – a touch of the Nation of Ullysses about it.
The effervescent opener, ‘A Wall’, has lyrics drawn from Assata Shakur’s poem “I believe in living“, and Sonic Youth style delivery. The song calls out Trump with a joyful resistance.
‘Promissory Note’ is an unapologetic bird-flip to the band’s censurers: “So what’s the matter, you don’t like what you see? / I can’t believe you’re even talking to me!”
‘Somos Chulas’ (‘We are cool’) is one of three songs on the album sung primarily in Spanish and it’s a banger.
‘Lips That Bite’ is my favourite track on the album, largely due to the rollicking sax instrumental, over some unexpected synth.
Downtown Boys are best served live. Victoria Ruiz is mesmerising in her performance, and the band’s energetic shows are joyful, entertaining and inspirational. True story: when they played in London in 2015, three friends in the audience were so inspired that they formed their own sax punk band on the spot – and my band GUTTFULL was born.
Downtown Boys are currently touring Europe with several UK dates coming up: catch them if you can.
11/10: Brighton, UK @ The Haunt
12/10: Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
13/10: Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s
14/10: Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
16/10: Dublin, Ireland @ The Workman’s Club
17/10: Liverpool, UK @ The Shipping Forecast
18/10: London, UK @ Dome Tufnell Park
19/10: Sheffield, UK @ Picture House Social Club
20/10: Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
21/10: Bristol, UK @ Simple Things Festival
22/10: Birmingham, UK @ All Years Leaving Festival
Last weekend I met up with Ursula and Delilah Holliday, the sisters better known as Skinny Girl Diet, as they prepared to take to the stage for their headline set at Decolonise Fest, at Bermonsey’s supercool DIY Space for London.
I’ve loved the band from afar for a while, a love compounded in March when I watched them rock the fuck out of the Shepherd’s Bush Empire supporting Senseless Things. Having, since then, lost their bassist cousin Amelia Cutler from their line-up, the band as a close-knit duo are delivering a more biting sound, the lyrics are more poignantly-heard, and with Delilah working harder than ever on guitar her licks are engulfing, effortless, bluesy, and very punk rock.
I wondered if I’d be nervous meeting these awesome Wunderkinder in the flesh, but found them warm, unassuming and totally charming – sitting cross-legged on the floor eating pre-performance vegan food, the sisters bundle up laughing together and, adorably, finish each other’s sentences. Their parents, Melodie and Dan Holliday, are never far away from them, and emit the same warm, positive vibes that are just on the right side of the dividing line between punk and hippie. I think I want to be adopted by the Hollidays.
The band has crammed a staggering amount into the years they’ve been going. Their first gig (with Ursula aged 12, Delilah aged 15) was opening for Viv Albertine. Since then Skinny Girl Diet have established themselves Queens of the DIY scene. Their distortion-heavy grungey punk rock, with lyrics of feminist social commentary, draws easy parallels with the ’90s’ Hole and Bikini Kill, but the band have always been keen to point out that their music shares only some of the aspects of the Riot Grrrl movement; Skinny Girl Diet’s work is all about inclusion, and using the platforms that are open to them to amplify the other, marginalised voices around them. Their debut album Heavy Flow came out September 2016, and I’ve a feeling it will be the first of very many … these focussed young women have all the skills.
Ursula: Decolonise Festival is all about highlighting the fact that punk is mainly white male dominated, and it’s a space for people of all backgrounds and lifestyles to just come together and feel proud of the fact that punk can be, just whatever you want to make it.
Delilah: It’s such a good thing that it exists! We’ve played Afropunk …
Ursula: But I think this is better.
Delilah: Um … It’s different. I feel like it’s more ‘to punks’. But Afropunk’s a bit different. We were playing Alexander Palace – the main stage – so I felt more disconnected from the atmosphere. But the atmosphere here is really …
Ursula: … it’s DIY!
Delilah: Yeah, and you can just suck in more!
Ursula: Yeah. Suck it up!
What does the DIY scene mean to you?
Ursula: It’s the place that feels like home. We were taken in by so many people – taken under their wing. We used to play Power Lunches, when it still existed. I think it’s closed now maybe?
Delilah: Yeah
Ursula: Places like that really embraced us, so it’s definitely the root of everything we do, very DIY. Even now, we fund everything we do.
Delilah: … getting published ourselves, and distributed …
Ursula: yeah, all of that stuff! But it does make it more worthwhile because you’ve got complete control – that’s one thing. But it’s also a pain in the arse financially. Because we basically go to gigs, play, and put that money into what we do. Everything we earn is just circulating, so we don’t really make money. But, hey, it’s fun!
Delilah: The more we do it the more we realise that we don’t really want to be commercial, and our goals and aspirations lie more in helping people, rather than, like, being famous.
Do you see music as your future?
Ursula: Yeah, it’s the only thing that really speaks to us, and that we’re good at.
Delilah: It’s the most fulfilling thing. We just want to help people, and make them feel like they’re understood. And that’s the goal really.
Ursula: YEAH!
What’s your advice for young, female musicians?
Delilah: Have a really thick skin, and don’t give up if you get a bad review, or if the crowd don’t understand you. The more you do it, the more people will understand it, eventually, and the more other young women what you want to inspire, will respond back to you. So it’s all worthwhile when that happens.
Have you faced any negativity?
Delilah: We a really horrible review from a female writer at The Guardian who said that we were just fashion babes …
Ursula: Yeah, she started putting what we were wearing under scrutiny.
Delilah: It’s just really upsetting because, obviously not all women have to be friends, but it is nice when other women support young people making music.
Your Dad is your Manager!
Ursula: Our Dad does pretty much all of our posters and manages us. A really good manager – Dan Holliday – who we owe our lives to, and everything else! *laughs*
Delilah: He started managing us because I had my GCSES at the time, and I was like ‘Dad, I can’t do these emails!’, and then ever since then it’s like … no offence to Dad … he’s learning as well, and we all learn together, and he keeps everything glued together. It’s really nice.
And your Mum is a DIY punk too …
Ursula: She’s the biggest supporter of our band. She always comes to the front row and dances and sings along, so that’s really nice.
Ursula: We don’t really have the whole thing of ‘rebelling against our parents’ because they’re just completely supportive.
Delilah: Sometimes I get a bit insecure and I wish I could rebel in some sort of way …
Ursula: Yeah, find something, anything!
When’s the second album coming out?
Delilah: The whole second album’s finished it’s just, cos we do everything ourselves, it’s really hard to get everything mixed, and make videos … so it takes a while and it’s frustrating, but we just try and move at our own pace and hope people understand!
Skinny Girl Diet’s next LONDON gig is LOUD WOMEN …
The Baby Seals – The Baby Seals (EP, April 2017)You can’t help but love The Baby Seals. An all woman trio – consisting of two sisters and their bezzie – playing a genre they’ve invented themselves, ‘empower pop’.
The first time they played LOUD WOMEN Club, back in December 2016, several members of the audience were debating forming a record label right there on the spot in order to sign them. Now it seems that these smart Seals have gone and done exactly that for themselves, releasing their eponymous debut EP under their own steam. The spirit is DIY punk, but the sound is neatly polished.
The songs are strong and dancey and perfectly executed, and the biting lyrics genuinely hilarious. But these funny women are not laughing at themselves: they’re inviting us to join them in laughing at the ridiculous policing of women’s bodies.
Opener ‘My Labia’s Lopsided, But I Don’t Mind’ spells out their agenda in mile high neon lights: bollocks to the patriarchy, and we’re going to have an awesome time while we’re at it. It’s a storming song and catchy as hell – big guitar licks over a dead funky rhythm, and proper choral vocal harmonies – and that’s before you even get to the lyrics:
“If you go downtown don’t you dare close your eyes
If you go downtown don’t dare be motherfucking surprised
My la-la-la-la-la-la-la-labia’s lopsided but I don’t mind…”
It’s a crying shame that this song is unlikely to ever get played on mainstream radio – teenagers and young women need this message of sex-positive body confidence now more than ever.
And that message of loving your own body, in all its weird and wonderful variations, continues in ‘Nipple Hair’ – a song which sounds very much like early Bangles, but with less hairspray and a lot less hair removal. It’s a classic power pop ballad, with a middle eight I wish I’d written: “Some aeriole are big and veiny / Some look like puppy dog’s noses / Some look like they’ve been dipped in gravy”
‘Period Drama’ has a similarly ’80s-soft rock feel – more reverb-y harmonies over big guitar. A song that will strike a chord with any uterus-owner who’s ever been caught out by Aunt Flo’s arrival and had to improvise with a jumper tied round your waist to hide the stains. (Yep, that’s pretty much all of us then.)
‘Guuurrrrl’ is another super-catchy anthem with the simple message: “You – yeah you! – can be what you want to”. It’s the kind of song to outro an indie highschool romcom movie, with the cheerleaders chucking their pompoms out the window of the car as they drive off towards Vegas with a trunk full of guns and quarterbacks. Oh how I’d love to see that movie.
The Baby Seals played LOUD WOMEN Club on International Women’s Day, and I had such fun dancing to ‘Yawn Porn’, down the front with loads of great babes around me yelling along to “He’s going to cum on her FACE!” It was like the best woke hen party ever. They closed the set with EP closer, ‘It’s Not About The Money Honey’, a bluesy bass-rolling chant calling for equal pay.
These talented women aren’t so much smashing the patriarchy as laughing in its face. I can’t wait to see what The Baby Seals come up with next.
Whether you’re the lead singer in a militant feminist punk group, or play second fiddle in a folk collective, female musicians all need a helping hand from their sisters if they want to get ahead in the big boys’ club that is the music industry.
We at LOUD WOMEN Club know this all too well, which is why we’ve asked some of the bands who have played for us to share their top tips for being a girl in a band.
1Ren Aldridge, vocalist in Petrol Girls
My top tip for women getting involved in music is that it’s ok to suck. Seriously, there are plenty of men who play music that suck, and they are allowed to suck and it have nothing to do with their gender. It takes time to get good at what you do. So suck for a bit, and enjoy it. You’ll get better without even realising.
2Charley Stone, guitarist with MX Tyrants
Here’s a technical tip for soundchecks: often when you’re having problems hearing things on stage, the sound tech (often a guy) will shrug and tell you ‘it will sound better when there’s people in the room’. To an extent they’re right – but that’s not much help when you’re trying to get a balance onstage so that you can all hear what you’re doing. So when that happens, ask them to switch off the front of house PA so you can play a song or a bit of a song with just the monitors on, and see if you can hear yourselves then. That’s my tip from the top! It’s one of the things I wish I’d known when I started out, anyway.
3Laura Kirsop, singer in Ex People
Don’t be scared to say no. In my old bands, stylists wanted me to wear things I would never normally wear and I was too scared to put my foot down. As a result I was uncomfortable and gave a worse performance. Just say no!
4Hannah, singer in GAYR
“Don’t do yourself down until you’ve given everyone else the chance first!” That observation was from another female performer and it really resonated with me. I had, and still have, to get out of my own way, as a performer, writer or really anything else! My advice would be, just have a go. There’s no magic formula or god-given talent or right involved. Hook yourself up with some enthusiastic and supportive people and do some work. Put on a wicked outfit, or don’t, and have a ball. If you think you’ll love it, you probably will.
5Cassie Fox, bassist in The Wimmins’ Institute
When you’re a new band, you’ve got to shout from the rooftops about how awesome you are. Blow your own trumpet – no one’s going to do it for you! Bigging up yourself goes against everything we were taught as little girls about being ‘ladylike’. Which makes it doubly important that the next generation of little girls see us smashing that toxic stereotyping to bits. Be bold and confident (or, at least, feign confidence for long enough for it to start to feel natural!)
6Becky Baldwin, bassist in IDestroy
Know when to stand up for yourself, ask questions and prove yourself. Online trolls can be ignored, but certain people in the industry can and will help you if you can calmly but fairly show why they are in the wrong. Most people don’t know they’re being sexist, and although it’s unfair that we need to work extra hard to prove we belong here, I think it’s the best way to push the industry forward. Use your knowledge and be proud!
7Lilith Ai, singer songwriter
Kill with kindness. Nobody is perfect. Making music is hard and it’s scary sometimes, showing all when you’re on stage or people are checking out your MP3s. So don’t diss your fellow artists, befriend them. They’ll be your greatest allies.
Last year, as part of the inaugural We Shall Overcome (WSO) festival, I put on a gig in London. WSO had 200-plus gigs UK-wide in aide of anti-austerity charities and foodbanks – a massive show of solidarity against an oppressive Tory government.
But it was yet another ‘leftie festie’ ringing the bell for community spirit, but forgetting to include half of the population: nearly all of the events were run by men and featured the same old ‘man bands’. No fun being the only woman at any of those shows.
So, I called my WSO gig ‘LOUD WOMEN’, and sought to redress the balance a little. We had six awesome female acts: Blindness, DreamNails, Argonaut, Emily C Smith, JanineBooth, and my own band, The Wimmins’ Institute. The venue was the Silver Bullet in Finsbury Park (a club now tragically closed and in the hands of corporate developers).
The gig was a storming success, with a sisterly and inclusive atmosphere, huge fun had, and a big fat wadge of cash raised for our chosen charity, Women’s Aid.
With so many other amazing female musicians needing a supportive platform, it seemed daft not to put on another gig, and another, and another … a year on and LOUD WOMEN has staged 21 events, showcasing 63 women-led acts, and raised over £1,800 for Women’s Aid.
The WSO festival returns this year between 1st and 9th October, with 250 (and counting) gigs lined up across the country. A slightly less man-heavy feel to the festival this year, but, once again, the line-ups of nearly all the gigs listed are predominantly male. With women consistently hit hardest by government cuts, it’s depressing to see female artists omitted from events, or given a low billing.
But LOUD WOMEN will of course be staging our own WSO gig – on 7thOctober at Tottenham’s T.Chances. This year we’re doing it as a sisterly collaboration with Beth White and Who Run the Worldpromotions, and we’ve got The Empty Page, Dream Nails, Little Fists, and Charmpit playing, and, of course, Janine Booth doing some poetry. Full details here.
A few other WSO events bucking the man-band trend:
The brilliantly-named Walthamstow women’s music collective She17 is holding a WSO event in the afternoon of 9th October at Hucks Wine Bar, this one in aid of Age UK. The line-up includes More Peas, Beth White, Mariache17 and Sulk.
My very favourite venue in Wales, Le Pub in Newport, is hosting several WSO events, including 8th October with HelenLove, TheSchool and spoken word artist Renn.
Glossop Labour Club is putting on an afternoon of female acoustic artists on 9thOctober: Lesley Anne Davies, Eliza P and Lauren Davidson
In Nottingham on 9th October there’s an ‘alternative Sunday service’, including the Bread and Roses Theatre Troupe, the Clarion Choir, and the perfectly named Rosa’s Lovely Daughters.
Ulveston hosts US folk duo Hungrytown, and singer songwriter Louise Mary Martin on 7th October
LOUD WOMEN BFFs Argonaut are also getting involved with WSO by releasing an EP in support of Disabled People Against Cuts. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for a great new video too.
After WSO, my full attention goes back to the regular LOUD WOMEN nights, and the next one is a doozy. 21 October at the Hope & Anchor in Islington. Playing are Bratakus (riot grrrl sisters flying down for the gig from the North of Scotland); Madonnatron (hotly tipped punks you may have heard live in session on Radio 6 with Marc Riley this week); Emily C Smith (a LOUD WOMEN returnee – I love her powerful voice); and Brutalistas (DIY sistas with attitute). Tickets £5, and as usual we’ll be raffling CDs, books, and bits-and-bobs from the bottom of our handbags towards the Women’s Aid fund.
Lily from Fightmilk, playing a LOUD WOMEN gig at the Veg Bar Brixton, 10 June 2016. Photo (c) Keira Anee 2016 – keiraaneephotography.com
LOUD WOMEN describe themselves as “a DIY collective that champions women in music by hosting live events that are fun, friendly and frickin awesome”. The gigs were launched in October 2015 by Cassie Fox, of The Wimmins’ Institute and Thee Faction, as part of the ‘We Shall Overcome’ weekend of anti-austerity gigs staged all over the UK.
She says, “I looked at the list of gigs – hundreds of them – all starring men with guitars, male DJs, male organisers, and I thought I’d try putting on a women-led live music night at the Silver Bullet in Finsbury Park. I was bouyed up from having organised a big show (with Thee Faction), at Union Chapel, a fundraiser for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour leadership campaign, which raised nearly £10,000. The first LOUD WOMEN night was a massive hit! The place was packed from the start, we raised loads of money for our chosen charity (Women’s Aid), and some awesome, unknown bands got a platform.”
Most notably, this was Dream Nails’ first ever gig, a band involved with feminist direct action groups. Without even a demo to their name they were booked by Cassie, as the bill’s opener, and delivered an infectious Ramones meets Bikini Kill for the 21st Century. News of this fire, feminism and fun travelled fast: since then they’ve released an EP, ‘DIY’, live shows are always sold out, and they’ve secured a slot at this year’s Glastonbury.
“That’s what LW is all about: putting talented and committed women on stages who might otherwise have struggled to get heard.”
Anya of Dream Nails describes LOUD WOMEN as “our fairy punkmothers”.
Since that first gig, LOUD WOMEN have showcased 42 women-led acts via 17 shows, and raised nearly £1,000 for Women’s Aid, through a regular raffle (prizes often include rare records and books). Shows are mostly in London, where Cassie Fox is based, but not exclusively so: recent dates included cracking events at Newport and Brighton.
In February, the LOUD WOMEN eZine was launched to over 1,000 subscribers, featuring news, interviews, videos and music reviews. A festival is planned for September. Bob Oram wrote in The Morning Star that “Loud Women will undoubtedly be the beacon for all the best new female talent in 2016”.
Tegan Christmas, of The Ethical Debating Society, says LOUD WOMEN are the “Best shows in London for grrrl fronted guitar action! Inclusive, friendly and inspiring.”
Angela Martin of Bugeye says, “Awesome crowds, amazing bands and one of the most supportive promoters you’re likely to meet.”
Artist Diane Goldie describes the nights as “Real feminism and sisterhood in action with a rrriotous score”
Behind the scenes is a group known as ‘Team LOUD WOMEN’ – a group of musicians, gig-goers, music journalists and writers, willing to support Loud Women, as and when required in areas such as marketing, writing for the E-zine, organisation, door duty, stage managing, social media, design. Women who join the Loud Women team are committed to DIY music, and want to support Cassie’s vision and share their experience or knowledge, others want to work or study in a particular field, a feasible very part time internship.
What type of bands is Loud Women looking for?
“Officially, the genres we put on are punk, pop and indie,” says Cassie. “But in practice it’s just ‘stuff that I like’. And, to be fair, that seems to be working pretty well for us so far! My favourite bands are those who have something to say for themselves, but want us all to have a good time while they’re doing that. That’s the kind of atmosphere we love at LW shows: one minute we’ll have tears in our eyes because someone on stage has just been so open and honest about something that’s hurt them, the next we’re down the front jumping about with our friends, laughing while we’re dancing and singing along to some badass music.”
LOUD WOMEN also host regular all-ages matinee gigs, the first, at the Lexington, Islington and the next on 18th June at the Half Moon, Putney, with acts such as Piney Gir and The Priscillas providing entertainment for grown ups and kiddies alike. Children are encouraged to take part in music making and bands adapt their set for the mixed audience. There is face painting for children and the usual raffle. Parents need to provide their own ear-plugs or headphones for children but the sound level is not as high as a normal live show.
Highlight of the LOUD WOMEN calendar this year is their first all-day festival – Saturday 3rd September at the 700 capacity venue T.Chances in Tottenham. 25 acts will appear across two stages (with no slot clashes), in a line-up that mixes established artists, such as Desperate Journalist, Louise Distras and Grace Petrie, hot new stars like Vodun and Dolls, and DIY favourites such as The Ethical Debating Society, PetrolGirls and DreamNails. There will be stalls, zines, clothing, poetry and speakers. The event is all-ages until 7pm, then the louder bands get going until 2am.
Ngaire Ruth wrote for Melody Maker for 15 years, as well as presenting Transmission TV, in the ‘80s and ‘90s. More recently, she’s moved into online journalism as Live Editor for thegirlsare.com, and continutes to freelance and teach at UCA.
Advertisements
For all those who support putting women on stage, and turning up the volume
, Argonaut, Emily C Smith, Janine Booth, and my own band, The Wimmins’ Institute. The venue was the Silver Bullet in Finsbury Park (a club now tragically closed and in the hands of corporate developers).
