Column: In Da Club - 003, Nov 2003
By: Joshua K
Bo-selecta! Time again to jiggle tings proper with 'In Da Club' #3 - da rude boyz (and this month, girlz) fronting da cool bands about to graze your world.
Or summat. So keep those hot tips coming to to joshuak@rockfeedback.com and tobyl@rockfeedback.com, and get ready to roll with two female-fronted outfits eager to grab you by the balls.
THE TWENTY TWOS
Not in any way to be confused with young British bluesniks 22/20s, though nonetheless kindred spirits in their devotion to raw energy, The Twenty Twos are an unsigned, post-Strokes NYC four-piece whose combination of power and melody are not to be denied.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Because well-executed, high-energy thrills such as these don't come along everyday, punk. Rockfeedback saw The Twenty Twos live just last week and was blown away by the sound and vision of three wired ladies (Jenny Christmas, Terrah Schroll, and Hannah Moorhead) artfully bashing away on guitar, keys and bass - backed by the elegant skin-pounding of former Spacehog drummer Jonny Cragg.
In an industry increasingly dominated by 'scenes', The Twenty Twos' head-on rock music feels right at home throughout the spectrum. That's why they've supported Supergrass in the States and this week head across the pond to open for current indie-flavours Stellastarr*. They won't be unsigned for long, so show up early and say you saw 'em when at Sheffield Fez Club (20/11), Stoke Sugarmill (21/11), Reading Fez Club (22/11) and London Islington Academy (24/11).
FIND OUT MORE: http://www.thetwentytwos.com.
THE AFFAIR
Following on the heels of Rough Trade's Fiery Furnaces, along comes sister act (in the sense of similar mindsets, at least) The Affair. How so, you say? Picture short, spiky, quirky New Wave-meets-No Wave girl-pop like Blondie and Pattie Smith used to make.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: The Affair seductively mine a fertile time in New York's musical history: the late 1970s/early 1980s period when sharp guitar nestled in with darting keyboards and assertive vocals to create some of the most brittle yet beautiful tunes ever (think Blondie's 'Call Me' and 'Heart of Glass'). In fact, singer Kali Holloway shares a definite vocal style with Debbie Harry - but her intriguing vocal ticks make the songs all her own. Meanwhile, Neel Arant's keyboard lines and Josh Leeman's guitars swirl seductively underneath and Marc Pattini's steady drumming holds it all together.
Like The Twenty Twos, The Affair also stand out due to the eclectic attention they've attracted... from sometime rockfeedback (non-)media-cohorts ArtRocker, to artists ranging from Electric Six to Junior Senior, for whom the band recently opened in NYC. And now hipsters Vice Records, who plan to release The Affair's first single early in the new year.
Next month... In Da Club bands update and, oh yes, some tips for '04.
The Affair Photo-Credit: Jennifer Snow