FRÄULEIN + LAMBRINI GIRLS + I, DORIS + I AM HER – THE PIPER, ST LEONARDS-ON-SEA 25.2.22
“LOUD WOMEN is a DIY collective that champions women in music by hosting live events that are fun, friendly, and frickin awesome.” I couldn’t have put it better myself, so I won’t try. Tonight the collective has decamped to St Leonards-On-Sea for an all-ages show in the upstairs room of The Piper. Four acts are featured, and it’s an early start and early finish, so I won’t dilly dally on the way.
First on stage, at 7.15pm, we have I am HER, a black clad duo on acoustic guitar and drums. Vocalist Julie Riley plays a Tanglewood electro-acoustic, strumming insistently with open strings ringing out an accompanying drone. Julie was formerly in Rosa Mota, a band signed to Mute Records in the mid 1990s. Now based in East Sussex, she seems to have been responsible for procuring the venue for tonight’s show. Drummer Jeff, formerly with Submarine, leaves plenty of space whilst adding some interesting floor tom embellishments with a pair of hot-rods.
The songs are splendidly vibey, in the murder ballad tradition. Moody and brooding, they are performed with a mesmerically intense stare by Julie. ‘Here To Love’ is introduced as being new, and fits right in. ‘Unrequited Love’ breaks ranks with more of a 1960s garage psych feel. Jeff plays with snare off, head bobbing with a long fringe trying hard to weave itself into his beard.
It’s an excellent opening to the evening. I am HER have a sizeable catalogue of recorded work available online, and are well worth further investigation.
I am HER:
Julie Riley – vocals, guitar
Jeff Townsin – drums
I am HER setlist:
‘Camel’, ‘Debby Brown’, ’Sister’, ‘Little Girl’, ‘Here To Love’, ‘Red Shoes’, ‘Unrequited Love’, ‘Heretic’
I, Doris, from London, describe themselves as “kitchenpunk” and “mummycore”. They seem to have a flexible lineup, although all players are known as Doris. Along with the band name, this seems to be making a point of how patriarchal views of women tend to overlook individual identity. Their feminism is particularly positive, championing the often overlooked contribution of the women who do the important work of cooking, cleaning, and raising children, and this is given a strong visual representation in the band uniform of classic red “dinner lady” tabards.
We open with a disco beat and an introduction to the band. On vocals and bass we have Doris, also known as Cassie Fox, the founder of LOUD WOMEN. House right on vocals and keytar, is Doris (Lucy Morgan). Yes, a keytar, one of those lightweight synths that you wear on a strap, popular in the 1980s. If you’re interested, it’s a Roland A X Edge. House left, guitar Doris (Vicki Workman) plays a Vox Custom 24. I think the drumming Doris is Louisa Edwards Knight, although like Spinal Tap, the occupant of this band’s drum stool seems to change very frequently. Introductions completed, the disco groove becomes recent single ‘Wonderwomen’, a paean to multi-tasking domestic super-heroines. I particularly like the line “I’m working in the evening, I’m working on the train, while the boss is on the golf course, working on his game.”
Before the next number, the audience are sworn in to “the Doris pledge”. This is a rather charming oath of solidarity to look out for one another. They launch into ‘Just Some Doris’, which is pretty much their theme tune, and bounces along on a swirling keyboard riff that reminds me of ’96 Tears’.
‘The Girl From Clapham’ is an excellent rewrite of ‘Up The Junction’ by Squeeze, using a poem by Janine Booth that tells the story from the woman’s point of view. It’s very nicely done, with the keytar doing a fine job replicating the parts from the original tune. ‘Does Your Girlfriend Know You’re Here’ has a ska-feel, lolloping along on some bubbling keys. ‘Do It Yourself’ segues into Cindi Lauper’s ‘I Touch Myself’, which should give you an idea what the lyric is about.
Best of all is current single ‘In The Ladies’, a joyous slice of bouncy pop that celebrates the friendship bonds forged in the ladies’ loo on big nights out. It is so infectious that I find myself a bit of space and enjoy a dance. This excellent set concludes with a big LOUD WOMEN singalong to a cover of ‘Rebel Girl’ by Bikini Kill. The band are joined on stage by Joni from Fräulein, and there’s a real air of celebration.
I’m impressed that they have brought their children to the show, and I’m politely but firmly hustled to the merch table by one young lad, who then comes back to check that I actually bought something. That’s the way to do it.
I, Doris:
Doris – vocals, bass
Doris – vocals, keytar
Doris – guitar
Doris – drums
I, Doris setlist:
‘Wonderwomen’, ‘Just Some Doris’, ‘The Girl From Clapham’,’Does Your Girlfriend Know You’re Here’, ‘Do It Yourself’, ‘In The Ladies’, ‘Rebel Doris’ (cover of ‘Rebel Girl’ by Bikini Kill)
Brighton’s Lambrini Girls are next, and the room has suddenly filled up. There are some anxious preparations on stage, and the sound tech’s drum key is very much in demand as the house kit is prepped for the coming onslaught.
“Here’s the most uncomfortable fifteen minutes of your f*cking life!” yells Phoebe, by way of introduction. I’m actually fairly comfortable with the ensuing explosion of punky, grungy energy, though it’s probably as well that I can’t discern too many of the lyrics. Opener ‘F*ck Myself’ is pretty clear, led by a busy snare beat reminiscent of ‘Ballroom Blitz’, and punctuated with stops and howling screams. Phoebe rocks a sparkly green dress and is thrashing the living daylights out of a surf green Jaguar guitar. House right, Fox grinds the low end on a pink Mustang bass, whilst Catt seems to be trying very hard to pound the house kit through the stage and into the downstairs bar. No wonder the fittings needed tightening.
Somehow the next number goes up a gear, with even more speed, intensity and intent. “I’m not your sex toy!” Phoebe snarls furiously, over an urgently driving beat. ‘Big Dick Energy’ is introduced as being about toxic masculinity with a sly quip of “Bon appetit!” A cowbell provides some rattling rhythmic variety underneath an insistently chanted vocal.
‘Boys In The Band’ focuses on the sexual impropriety and abuse that has tainted sections of the music scene in recent years. Its manic energy is especially impressive given that the entire verse is thrashed on open strings. High altitude snare hits, with the stick beginning its descent from way above Catt’s head, add a pile-driving momentum to this super heavy number, and there’s plenty of rolling around on the stage.
I’m not totally sure of the title of the next piece, but it starts with a skittering cowbell-led Latin rhythm, and tells of a white-van-man’s unwanted advances, calling down from the scaffolding like an inverse Romeo. It involves an extended foray into the audience from Phoebe. The set closer is a gloriously surreal high-velocity call-and-response piece, listing the many ills of the world, to which the bizarre chanted refrain is ‘Craig David’. The tempo steadily increases to breakneck speed, culminating in a crescendo of righteous energy.
Lambini Girls are likely to be an increasingly hot ticket whenever they play. If you get a chance to see them, I’d take it. It’ll be an experience!
Lambrini Girls:
Phoebe Lunny – vocals, guitar
Lilly Ava-Adore – bass, vocals
Catt Jack -drums
Lambrini Girls setlist:
‘F*ck Myself’, ‘Sex Toy’, ‘Big Dick Energy’, ‘Boys in The Band’, ‘You Should Smile More’, ‘Craig David’
www.facebook.com/LambriniGirlsband
The final act tonight is Fräulein, a guitar and drums duo. Joni, originally from Northern Ireland, sings and plays an interesting looking Squier Super Sonic, whose design gives the impression the headstock is on upside down. The output is split, with the signal going into both guitar and bass backline amps, and the resultant sound is rich and massively full. Drummer Karsten is Dutch and busy laying down a strong groove with an intricate beat. The pair apparently met at a jam night in 2018.
Opener ‘Belly’ has a disquieting air of menace, flitting between quieter sections and more anguished howls. The drumming is varied, making full use of the kit. There’s a link into ‘By The Water’, with a simpler and naggingly insistent guitar figure and subtle but powerful percussive hits. It’s a cracking number, a real ear worm.
There’s a new song next, so new it doesn’t have any lyrics. Joni vocalises over an ascending progression and gorgeous flurries of tom rolls and rim clicks. It’s hugely impressive, and doesn’t suffer at all from the absence of words. We’re straight into ‘Girl’, which is busy and urgent, with great riffing and tom builds. When Joni gets a squeal on at one point, I’m reminded of Poly Styrene from X-Ray Spex, the first band I ever saw, more years ago than I care to count.
Joni pauses to tune and hydrate, so Karsten entertains us with a drum solo. How very retro! It’s a proper nod to the jazzy drummers of days past, a blizzard of breathtakingly brisk triplets. By contrast, ‘(And I Go) La La La’ is slow and brooding, punctuated with slabs of grungy guitar. ‘Pretty People’ starts sparsely, with damped low strings, before expanding to a satisfying wig out with more wailing vocalisation. The pair conclude their excellent set with the current single ‘Drag Behind’, another big build with Karsten getting furiously busy on the floor tom.
Fräulein make excellent use of the two-piece format, the space afforded by the lack of instrumentation providing a broad canvas for some stunningly creative sonic expression. If you get a chance, I strongly recommend you check them out.
Fräulein:
Joni Samuels – vocals, guitar
Karsten van der Tol – drums
Fräulein setlist:
‘Belly’, ‘By The Water’, ‘New Song (No Lyrics)’, ‘Girl’, ‘(And I Go) La La La’, ‘Pretty People’, ‘Drag Behind’
It has been a splendidly entertaining evening here in St Leonards, and I’ve been blown away by the quality of all the bands. Look out for events by the LOUD WOMEN collective. They’re a lot of fun.
