By: Chris Ball
Girl Sweat | facebook | twitter | bandcamp |
Released on May 6, 2016 via Box Records
There are two competing reviews of this album, Bad Happenings by Stockton On Tess based reprobate Girl Sweat, fighting for dominance in my head, heart and finger tips. One of them, I must admit, the stronger of the two, consists of me giving a dismissive track by track run down of the album, listing the obvious major influences on display – a sort of psychobilly bingo call, live from the garage. For example – Track One, ‘Off The Tracks’ = The Cramps meets Can!!
The second review would be me generously extolling it’s virtues, telling of the enormous bad fun to had whilst this naughty puppy of an album repeatedly yelps, shreds your slippers and excitedly runs around your living room before pissing up your leg.
I’m going to have to do a bit of both I think.
Girl Sweat is apparently the work of one man, a self confessed ‘vulgar no-talent northerner’ (according to his Twitter profile) who perhaps unsurprisingly creates music fit to soundtrack the sort of very messy evening I’m far too old to experience any more. If you are a fan of the acid fried lunacy of The Butthole Surfers and the crepuscular swamp rock of Gallon Drunk and think The Horrors first album was their best then Bad Happenings is very much for you.
Sounds good doesn’t it? Well, if only I could turn my critical faculties down to mute it would be. The freshly minted ears of a novice music fan could hear this batch of highly flammable noise, which occasionally resembles songs, and enjoy unfettered by the constant chatter of the seasoned alt-rock veteran which resides in my mind. Oh to hear ‘Under The Tree’ and not have a small but loud voice decrying ‘that bass line is a TOTAL Kim Deal rip off!’
Of course there are moments where Girl Sweat slip the stylistic shackles of their forebears and attempt to sound like themselves: ‘River of Hair’ manages to be violent, queasy and erotic all at once before developing into a psych-o weird out that I can only describe as the Tardis attempting to land inside a tumble dryer, which is being kicked down some stairs. It’s unusual and mostly works.
So an album of unhinged, rip snorting, psychobilly garage rock has ended up making me feel old and frustrated. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the plan Girl Sweat, but fuck you anyway.
