Right down to their name’s sarcastic critique of gendered beauty standards and the diet industry, punk duo Skinny Girl Diet make a point of being brave and unapologetic about their beliefs. They’re individualists to the core, taking pride in their unsigned and underground identity and embracing experimental touches. Musically, this means that you never really know what to expect from their records, but their latest album Ideal Woman proves that a little adventure can always be welcomed.
Opening with a distorted guitar line packed with overdrive and bite, first track ‘La Sirena’ is defined by one word: confidence. It’s a real necessity for this track and its poetic tone that the performers believe in it with confidence, as they do throughout with their ceaseless punchy energy. Sultry vocals and a dark, grungey underbelly brilliantly play off the supernatural imagery. The image of the siren is perfect for the duo; powerful, vicious, independent of authority and only answering to the forces of nature. ‘Witch of the Waste’ isn’t dissimilar in its approach, with vocalist Delilah Holliday delivering soulful lines blended with howling ferocity in a worship of the kind of kickass irreverent lady that riot grrrls used to write songs for.
Skinny Girl Diet clearly know how to support sisterhood, being sisters themselves. Tracks like ‘Western Civilisation’ evoke this to a tee. The conceit of a mythological tale in the first verse is used to get you nodding along before narrowing down to personal tales of racial and gendered bias. Set against an classic rock-influenced guitar line modernised with even more overdrive and fuzz, the chorus highlights the dangers of not supporting fellow marginalised voices with the line “how we gonna change the world when we’ve got no-one?”. This frustration is channelled into the countercultural themes of ‘Outsider’, where Delilah quite literally screams her discontent in a thrashing hardcore punk style. Drummer Ursula Holliday sets a fierce pace on drums in a chorus made for moshing, while the Delilah’s voice brings you right into the action.
It’s noteworthy that despite the band only having two members, the tracks rarely feel lacking or empty of something. The opening notes of ‘White Man’, for example, ring out like an alarm, and self-empowerment anthem ‘Warrior Queens’ has enough power to fill a damn stadium. The former track’s chorus almost comes across like a purposeful football chant, telling the complexities of being a woman of colour in society as the lyrics switch between anger, empowerment and bitter unhappiness with the state of inequality felt by those facing both racial and gendered prejudice. The thought-provoking manner in which they tackle subjects like this marks Skinny Girl Diet out as not only killer musicians but thought-provoking activists; these songs are driven by real passion, taking any listener on board.
Yeah it’s Monday morning, but don’t be glum because it’s time to open window number 4 on the LOUD WOMEN Advent Galendar, and who is that I see peaking out …
It’s Skinny Girl Diet, omg!
The amazing Holliday sisters played for the first of our VERY LOUD WOMEN nights at The Lexington this year, and they tore the roof off!
The pair have a big year ahead of them in 2018, including playing with Queens of the Stone Age in Finsbury Park in June!
Julie Hawk, front woman of Hawk, has created a beautiful multimedia project called ‘Female Fronted, Drawn Together’. This is very much LOUD WOMEN’s cup of tea! A playlist of inspirational female musicians, past and present, with an illustration to accompany each song. Julie has kindly written a piece exclusively for LOUD WOMEN explaining her work on the project.
I don’t know where I’d be without the musical women who have influenced me. I started Female Fronted, Drawn Together as a project that combines music and illustration in a way that celebrates this; that allows me to share their music and give a little back to say thank you.
There wasn’t really a plan at first in terms of what I would base each drawing on. But I think that’s led to a really organic and personal process of pin-pointing where my feelings lie, because each artist has affected my life in a totally different way. Some of these women I admire for their message or for their musical creativity. Some of them have given me unforgettable live experiences. And some of them I associate with significant memories, whether happy or sad – the right place at the right time.
I don’t think believe that anyone hears the same piece of music in the same way. Each connection that an artist makes with a listener is unique and complex. On top of this, female fronted music is so often lumped together as a single genre in a way that doesn’t acknowledge the diverse voices and talent and ideas that each woman brings to the table. I feel like in many ways, girls grow up to feel competitive to one another, but there’s been an amazing and positive backlash against this in music lately. I’m seeing so many girlbands looking out for each other and starting up amazing collectives together. I wanted Female Fronted Drawn Together to be a little contribution to this movement, and a space through which I could thank each of these women and just share a little love.
For this – the very first LOUD WOMEN ‘Her’cury Music Award – we’ve honoured most of the criteria of our rival, the so-called “Mercury” prize: that is, albums by British-based musicians released between30th July 2016and21st July 2017 (sorry to Deux Furieuses and Crumbs, respectively).
With TWO differences: our ‘Her’cury prize doesn’t care about record formats or industry distribution, and these artists are all LOUD, all female-fronted or female-driven, or just plain all-female. From a pool of thirty options, our scientific poll of the LOUD WOMEN Team has produced this shortlist of 12, given below in alphabetical order.The winner of the ‘Her’cury Music Award will be announced at lunchtime on Thursday 14 September.
Actual Crimes – ‘Ceramic Cat Traces‘
Swansong album from Kirsty (Cat Apostrophe) Fife, Aaron Batley and Ruth Mair. Tense post-hardcore melodies in the music and subtle political undertones in the words, topped with the prolific perzine-ster’s borderline-breakdown vocals.
Desperate Journalist – ‘Grow Up’
Second album from the runaway success story of the London indie scene, pushing all your Britpop/postpunk/pop-goth/80s-indie buttons at once. Soaring vocals, chiming guitars, proper songs and all’s right/wrong with the world.
Brilliant hook-laden grunge pop from this Glasgow duo, with every song a winner; proving that the ‘difficult second album’ is just a problem for other people.
The Menstrual Cramps – ‘We’re Not Ovaryacting’
The Menstruals (well, we can’t really nickname them ‘The Cramps’) hit the ground running earlier this year with this impressive digital debut and a ridiculously-confident live debut on International Womens’ Day for Who Runs the World/LOUD WOMEN.
Nolay – ‘This Woman’
Latest album from the Unorthodox Daughter, and impossible to number because so many of Nolay’s releases have been mixtapes straight from the underground. No pop-grime crossover, no compromise, and no holds barred. Nolay’s definitive feminist statement.
Oh! Gunquit – ‘Lightning Likes Me’
Second album from criminally-underrated, slightly-uncategorisable (although we’re about to have a go), new-wave surf-garage trash-punks!
Pet Crow – A Simple Guide to Small and Medium Pond Life
Impressively-tuneful debut album from Derby male/female 4-piece, released on vinyl by LIINES’ label Reckless Yes. Dancey, surfy, garagey indie punk fronted by Danielle Cotterill’s powerful vocals. https://petcrow.bandcamp.com/releases
Petrol Girls – ‘Talk of Violence’
Debut full-length release from probably the most powerful feminist band in the UK, known to leave audiences genuinely shocked-and-awed with a combination of rock hooks, hardcore assault and uncompromising lyrics. One of two shortlisted bands with a track on the LOUD WOMEN Volume One compilation album.
Sacred Paws – ‘Strike a Match’
Definitive musical statement from Rachel Aggs (Trash Kit, Golden Grrrls, Covergirl, Shopping) – possibly the UK’s greatest guitarist – combining what used to be called ‘world music’ with Postcard Records-esque post-punk funk. Scottish Album of the Year, and now LOUD WOMEN ‘Her’cury shortlist!
The Tuts – ‘Update Your Brain’
Widely-acclaimed and long-awaited debut from one of the hardest-working DIY bands in the business, released a decade after they first formed at school. Standout newer tracks ‘Con Man’ and ‘1982’ bring the best punk-pop hooks and ‘Give Us Something Worth Voting For’ delivers the clearest message.
The Wharves – ‘Electa’
Second album from this all-female melodic post-everything powerhouse follows 2014’s ‘At Bay’, showcasing more of their tightly rhythmic and skilfully harmonic repertoire. https://gringorecords.bandcamp.com/album/electa
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 first of a series of bigger, louder, spanglier LOUD WOMEN nights, at our favourite venue, The Lexington on Pentonville Road.
*****SKINNY GIRL DIET*****
“At last, real girls, young and believable, singing in their own voices.” – Viv Albertine (The Slits)
“Skinny Girl Diet are what Hole might have sounded like had Courtney Love hailed from Wood Green rather than Portland” – The Guardian
“London’s most badass girl gang” – Dazed
Skinny Girl Diet are two sisters from North London who play raw, abrasive, in your face guitar music. Formed in 2011, when still young teenagers, their first gig was with the Slits’ Viv Albertine and the TV personalities. While a three-piece with their cousin Amelia on bass, they played around the London area intially, earning touring stripes with their own generation’s breakthrough bands, the likes of The Fat White Family and Slaves. Last year, they’ve appeared alongside legends John Cooper Clarke and The Raincoats. Played dates in Europe and been interviewed by Arte for German TV. Iggy Pop recently said “Here are some people who just want to reach out and grab your ears” when he played them three times on his Iggy Pop Confidential BBC Radio 6 music shows and everyone from XFM’s Jon Kennedy, BBC Radio 6’s Marc Riley, Gideon Coe and Steve Lamaq, and BBC Radio 1’s Rob Da Bank have put them on the airwaves.They have graced the cover of Beat, can be spotted online and in magazines like Dazed and Confused, Vice, Vogue, Crack and The Guardian. Not to mention the stacks of underground zines. Their debut Album Heavyflow was released in Sept 2016 with great reviews from Drowned in Sound, The Line of Best Fit, Louder than War, and Collapse Board to name a few.
With support from:
*****THE FRANKLYS*****
Comprised of two members from Sweden and two from England, The Franklys play frenetic garage rock with heavy and psychedelic overtones á la Led Zeppelin-Blondie-Strokes-QOTSA-punk-pop-rock-madness.
With extensive touring across both the UK, Europe and America, including festival slots at Isle of Wight, Download Festival and Camden Rocks, The Franklys are surely making themselves known as one of the most exciting new live acts on the UK band circuit. https://www.facebook.com/thefranklys/
*****GUTTFULL*****
Dirty sax punk. “reminiscent of Bikini Kill if they had a baby with the Undertones, and adopted a saxophone player” – Parallel Magazine https://www.facebook.com/guttfull/
plus DJ Dapper D (aka Debbie Smith) will be spinning tunes after the bands for a very special LOUD WOMEN club after-party til your feet fall off!
review by Caitlin Webb
