Scouring the web for worthy female fronted contemporary punk is far from a bad way to while away one’s hours, but for those lacking in the spare time there’s a new compilation available. Rounding up 16 examples of the form for rapid-fire consumption and considerable satisfaction, Typical Girls might take a few inspirational cues from previous models, but its contents cohere without a hitch into a statement that’s very much of the moment. Touching upon numerous stylistic angles, it’s out now on clear vinyl LP, CD, and digital.
As an avid follower of female rock history is likely to know, Typical Girls borrows its title from a track on The Slits’ classic 1979 LP Cut, with Emotional Response’s cap tipping gesture only the most recent acknowledgement of the band’s gender trailblazing. Indeed, when inhabitants of the ’00s sought a web-based discussion group devoted to female punk knowledge and conversations, they turned to an email list named Typical Girls.
Still active if less busy today, in addition to the info and general good energy in its archives, the Typical Girls list inspired Rebuilding the Bridge, a swell various-artists covers CDR paying tribute to the enduringly striking compilation Wanna Buy a Bridge? Although its initial function was as a UK-centric roundup of the Rough Trade’s releases circa 1980, the set has grown into one of the defining records in the whole post-punk shebang.
Wisely, Emotional Response doesn’t attempt to match its gradually accumulated sense of scale. In fact, the internationally focused Typical Girls is onto something quite different; instead of getting sidetracked in an attempt to deliberately document broken ground (newness being a major attribute of Wanna Buy a Bridge?) the results here are refreshingly unburdened with anxiety over influence as they simply and effectively establish contempo continuity.
Of course, the most obvious facet is the gender focus, though some of the bands featured do have male members. That’s the case with Earth Girls, a Chicago act fronted by guitarist-vocalist Liz Panella; the speedy and poppy riffing of “Oland” opens the record with ample zest. It’s followed by London four-piece Primetime, their “Dumbhead” combining group vox with chunky rumble to fine effect.
A fair amount of Typical Girls’ track sequence is culled from prior releases, and some of the bands have attained a higher profile than others. That’s true of Memphis’ Nots, their Goner-issued We Are Nots having made this writer’s Best New Releases of 2014 list. The synth-punky trucking of “Reactor” is nabbed from that album, and reinforcing Camylle Reynolds’ skills at compiling, it sounds as swank here as it did a couple of years ago.
The first of three participants from Brighton UK, Daskinsey4 conjure memories of the early ’90s indie scramble, the terrific “Optic Nervous System” combining punk energy that would’ve been at right home on a Wiija or Kill Rock Stars sampler with a melodic sensibility appropriate for Slumberland or even SpinART.
Contrasting is San Francisco’s Quaaludes, who contribute the succinct and fuzzy Riot Grrl-ish outburst “Incoming Liberation.” It precedes the robust propulsion of “Belgrade” by Finland’s The Splits, a track on par with numerous lesser-known early-’80s Euro discoveries. But please don’t rate the tune (or this comp) as retro in intent, as The Splits are ultimately no more a throwback than Savages. Next is “Safety Instructions” by London’s Frau; it gives sturdy rant-punk a Bratmobile-like twist.
There is a surprisingly low ratio of Emotional Response-associated acts on Typical Girls, though a pair do round out side one. Last heard on a split 45 with Los Angelinos Shark Toys, Gainesville FL’s UV-TV are represented by the skillfully textured yet aptly raucous motion of “Fight Flight”; they’re followed by B.D. aka Bad Daddies, the East Bay-based Emotional Response standby fronted by compiler Reynolds nicely mingling shout, pound, and amp gunk on “Vise Grip.”
Of everybody here it’s London’s Shopping who register as the deepest extension of the strides made on the Bridge comp; alongside Nots they stand amongst the set’s better known entries, with their Why Choose LP (on FatCat) inspiring a fair amount of attention last year. The prickly, slightly angular groove of “Get Going” comes from their ’13 effort Consumer Complaints (on Milk).
They serve up a cool ditty, but it’s the anthemic throatiness and barreling momentum of “The Beauty of Absenteeism” by Leipzig, Germany’s Kenny Kenny Oh Oh that really stands out, the fist-pumping pogo-launching throttle pretty far from garden variety junk. From there Helsinki, Finland’s Charm Bags dish the mildly Ramonesian and quite likeable “Trouble” as Brighton’s The Meow Meows get unabashedly 2-Tone via “Rude Girl’s Gone to Jail.”
25 years or so back the Brit-ska flavor would’ve bummed these lobes right the fuck out, but having mellowed with age the acceptance of appropriated skank has risen and the tune goes down okay. Thoughtfully sequenced next is the mauling flail and gallop of “Paralysed” by Berkeley/ Oakland residents Street Eaters; like many of these entries it possesses the proper proportion of art to rock.
Fruitfully flipping the ratio is the synth and violin infused DIY-ish movements of Slum of Legs’ “Razorblade the Tape,” a savvy undercurrent of skewed pop marking the Brighton six-piece as a group to watch. Closing the album is the layered, vaguely metallic heaviness of “Caverna” by São Paulo Brazil’s Rakta; lengthy by this comp’s standards at six minutes, it solidifies the range on display in part through the use of Theremin.
Overall this LP is more reminiscent of the ’80s impulse for international punk compilations than the Rough Trade breakthroughs that directly preceded it. Don’t take this as a slight; if Reagan-era global punk often gets downgraded as being plagued by stale retreads and generic thrash, it was also the u-ground network that produced The Ex. Without insinuating itself as a Big Deal, Typical Girls is very much worth one’s time.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
