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Punk revivalism is so passé. But then again, maybe punk was always a bit passé, we just didn’t know any better (or more likely, didn’t care at the time). And perhaps this goes some way to explaining the normalisation of off-kilter freak outs from those reduced to the same tools as our chord-challenged predecessors. Not letting go of the DIY fuck-the-rules schtick that came to dominate a generation that turned from confrontational rebellion to idle heroin addiction in the blink of an eye. But with enough radical unpredictability to keep you guessing and wanting more. Behold, the femme answer to your prayers in the screaming backhand of a group, The Typical Grrrls.
Hailing from Sydney’s mountainous outer ranges, The Typical Grrrls feature Kirby on vocals, Violet on guitar, Angie on drums and Daisie on bass. The quartet scream, crash and jibe their way through music, conjuring a sound that’s a little bit post-punk, a teeny bit no-wave, and entirely unhinged. These girls summon the spirit of Ari Up, embody the petulance of Lydia Lunch, and wield the teenage whoredom of Courtney Love, all dusted with a hint of erotica from Madonna. The result being a raucous bunch of trigger happy ladies that will fuck you then beat you up. They’ll take your lunch money and buy cigarettes. And if you don’t like it, they’ll probably beat you up again.
The Typical Grrrls have released their self-titled debut affair, an album that reads part tantrum, part personal affront. Refreshingly free from the uninspired catch alls ala ‘smash the patriarchy’. The Typical Grrrls have enough emotional perception to have you all worked out. They know your weaknesses which they’ll gladly rip out of your chest and devour in front of you.
Opening with sex noises, it’s rhythmic bass and oddly timed drums that further introduce track 1, ‘KIBBLES’ (and yes, every track maintains the same threatening aura of being entirely in CAPS LOCK). The words ‘cute’ and ‘gorgeous’ pepper the track. ‘Hey Andy, you wanna fuck me tonight?’ / ‘I’m the best thing that you’ve ever seen’ taunts vocalist Kirby with a kind of ‘Good Sister – Bad Sister’ Hole energy.
With a precedent of swampy lo-fi racket and heated outbursts, the album continues in its thirst for the blood of vulnerable boys. Going for the jugular with ‘I’M SO FUCKING HOT WITHOUT YOU, BOY’ screams the similarly titled second track. Followed by the quiet/loud patronisation of ‘FRANTIC ROMANTIC’ and vaguely sentimental ‘TRADIE BOY’ and its indulge of hyper-localised vernaculars like ‘schooey’ (an Australian abbreviation for ‘schooner’; the mainstay beer vessel in NSW pubs) among its tale of complacent endearment.
‘JUNKY’S DREAM’ takes a punky approach, using washy lo-fi guitar to carry its exploration into the depths of delinquency. The tragic combo of spray painted hair and stolen bread compels us to ask the only logical request left at our disposal; ‘show me your veins’.
‘I DON’T WANNA HAVE RAPEY SEX TONIGHT’ is the obvious winner for greatest track title. Consent centric verses dreamily work as padding between the manifestation of an angry frustrated sexual rejection that bubbles over in the chorus. Though it would benefit from avoiding its repetition of superlatives from track 1, ‘SHITKICKER/WHITE BOY’, the final track before the outro, boasts a more sustained blow-off top and sits among the more dynamic end of the album overall.
This gloriously manic initial offering from The Typical Grrrls finds the group at the outer limits of female behavioural norms. The group wear their influences on their sleeve and go to great lengths to embrace the most uncomfortable qualities of our dearest matriarchal provocateurs. An insufferable racket or a frank rebuttal of female containment and expectation? You be the judge. Though, it’s probably all of the above.
Follow The Typical Grrrls on Instagram and listen to their self-titled debut below:
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