Venus Grrrls - Wicked Things EP
Venus Grrrls are a 5-piece all girl punk/rock band from Leeds, GK (vocals/guitar), Jess (guitar), Hannah (bass), Gabby (drums) and Gracie (synth), promoting the participation and inclusion of women in alternative music, as well as a safer, diverse music scene.
Aiming to bring a positive energy of feminism and activism through hard hitting alternative rock and punk influenced music, they also use electronic and astrological sounds to amplify their sonic signature.
There influences include Bikini Kill, L7, Bratmobile, Wolf Alice, Joan Jett, Dream Wife, Rews, Blondie, Grimes and Garbage.
The band came into contact with each other in late 2017 and after some initial difficulties in gelling, it was when they decided to do a cover of Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill, that thinks began to click into place and the girls knew that something was happening. The rest is history as they say !!
They worked hard in the last two years, rehearsing and polishing their songs, even designing and making our own ethical merch, and constantly advocating their core values of empowering women.
The have adopted the #GIRLSCAN hashtag, demonstrating that girls can all come together to GIVE female creatives the platform they should have always received.
So it’s just over a year now from the release of their first single Deranged that they are ready to unleash their latest EP Wicked Things on us, lead singer GK has this to say about the release:
With it being our first body of work, we wanted to take both ourselves and our listeners on a journey. Life can be sporadic with what it throws at you, it doesn’t ever seem to slow down when you need it to. This can definitely be heard throughout the tracks, from my point of view, they all represent some level of emotionally processing your experiences, and the many different stages of it. Instead of strictly writing three prominent feminist songs, we wanted our EP to have undertones of it across the board. We’re girls in alternative rock music, it’s hard, it might always be in our lifetime, but we’re trying to normalise it in any way we can. We can do that by writing about our experiences in day to day life and hoping someone can relate to it, which we’re hoping comes across when people listen to Wicked Things.
Wicked Things is on Monomyth Records and is released today, Friday 3 April 2020.
The first track on the EP is No Signs and this is a no holds barred punk banger, featuring chunky guitar riffs, swirling synth and a rhythm set by a solid bass and sharp drums, and GK’s powerful vocal, this is an attention grabbing opening track that picks you up by the scruff of the neck, pins you to the hanger and doesn’t drop you until the song ends. Ooooftttt !!!
Amy is next and this starts with an atmospheric overlay, solo guitar and GK demonstrating the softer range of her vocal. It gradually picks up as the rest of the band subtly join the fray before Cooke’s drums explode into action, bringing with it a huge guitar riff to bring the song to its climatic end.
The final track is You’re Alright, I Guess and this is an all honesty a pure all out fuckin rockNroll tune, with its massive riffs, and a strong rock vocal and a catchy as fuck chorus.
This was my first real introduction to Venus and they have quite literally blown my socks off, it is a diverse EP, showcasing three contrasting songs all of which deliver in their own individual ways.
The EP is top notch and I can’t wait to see what these girls deliver next and when we are in better times I will be watching closely for them touring in Scotland.
And my final words on the EP would be to steal the girls motto and say SUPPORT UR LOCAL GIRL GANG #GIRLSCAN.
Tracklist
No Signs
Amy
You’re Alright, I Guess
Give Wicked Things a stream now:
Venus Grrrls can be followed via their website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter:
https://www.facebook.com/VENUSGRRRLS/