If liked the punk pop of Brody Dalle’s Spinerette, you’ll love this Norwich, UK 5-piece The Brownies. It’s a female fronted band with plenty of ballsy, loud guitars and it’s not afraid to hurt your feelings. Lead vocalist Sophie Little gets your attention right away with the opener “Dance Romance.” The song kinda trends toward Elastica with punchy riffs and excellent bass work provided by Nathan Pounds, Stevie and Maxie Gedge. The album highlight here is the snarling pop of “Cougar” where Little starts yowling “You mark me like you mark your territory / I’ll ride you and you can claw me/ Slash slash it turns me on” pumping up the sexuality with each knife sharp riff. It’s this hostile combination of feminist aggression and gin soaked sex appeal that makes The Brownies so damn exciting. This is followed by the excellent tandem of “It Kills” and “Fight Night.” These first four tracks are as energetic, fresh and exciting as anything out there. Then it seems the band loses it way a bit as the other tracks can’t seem to ante up until “Cry Yourself To Sleep”which combines a synth dance beat with frantic guitar, drum combos and Little’s bold vocals. Fans of Be Your Own Pet, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs and Blondie will definitely dig this. So, If you like honest attitude with your power pop, blast this one through the speakers, why don’tcha.
