Labels: Drunken Sailor – Rad Girlfriend
Review by: MH
This album was released in 2006 but is getting a vinyl release for the first time. For those new to them, myself included, this is some female-fronted punk rock/power pop from Liverpool. They appear to have escaped my attention in the past and I will be blaming France for that. I was living there throughout the time of their existence and oblivious to the wider world around me. While I was listening to this I kept thinking that the vocals sound a bit like Louise Hanman from Caves and that it also sounds a bit like The Down And Outs. Some basic internet research then told me that it is actually the same singer and that there is some crossover of members with The Down and Outs. I’m sure no-one will believe the accuracy of my thoughts there but it did happen that way, I promise. Both those bands are good references as to how this sounds. It’s fairly old school punk rock and snappy stuff with all but two of the songs clocking in below the 3-minute mark. Superchunk would be a pretty good reference for the sound and the boundless energy on display although the vocals are obviously different. Also, Flamingo 50 retain a distinctly British sound and also have some neat harmonies going on in the backing vocals. It’s really good and well worthy of its belated appearance on vinyl for the first time. There are a number of great tunes on here and not a duff track in sight. The opener, in particular, and also “Face The Wall” are really good. The melodic “Losing Out” is probably the standout track for me overall though – I really like the riff, the lyrics about regret and the chorus – it’s a tune and a half. They play straightforward and don’t overcomplicate things on the whole. As far as I understand, they are no more but I’ll checking out their other material of which there is a healthy amount by the look of it.