Review Summary: Making Carrie Brownstein proud.
One time I described my taste in music as “Bands who have a crush on Carrie Brownstein”. My favourites
Camp Cope remind me of her with their feminist indie punk and so do
Muncie Girls, who went as far as name-dropping Sleater-Kinney in one of their songs. They wouldn't remain the only band I have on repeat to do so.
Carrie (I Want A Girl) was among my top played tracks of 2018, keeping it on loop many a days. Its melodic start, during which the band lists female first names they 'want', gives way to a thumping guitar part when the drums set in preparing for a heavier track. We're allowed to momentarily glimpse into the grunge power Moaning Lisa is capable of – but they're just teasing us. Unhurriedly, the music drifts along as the lyrics pick up where the intro left off. What does the ideal girlfriend look like? According to the quartet from Canberra, they
want a girl who's serious / […] a girl who eats cereal.The song flows along like this, until finally, the instruments and vocal performance reach their climax towards the end. We're treated to the surnames of the ladies mentioned, revealing the song's true essence: A tribute to all the lovely famous queers out there. As the band describes on their Bandcamp, it's “a good ol' fashioned punk song about being queer and loving women. And Carrie Brownstein.”
Needless to say, I anxiously awaited the rest of what the EP had to offer.
Good, a laid-back song dipping into shoegaze is likely best enjoyed on a lazy day with the sun warming one's skin. It makes me hopeful the narrator is lying there with one of the women besung in the opener.
Lily breaks with this expectation in an instant. The shoegaze influence seamlessly pours over, but the relationship has gone sour. It's a poignant ballad about a lost love loaded with emotion. As the desperation over what has happened grows, so do the guitars, washing out the mellow rock until by the end of their churning riffs one could almost forget the soft dreamy state they lulled us in with.
But who's to mull over a partner who may not even be into one's favourite cereal, anyway？ Stand-out track
Comfortable celebrates the single life. A refreshing sing-along anthem, it's perfect to perform on that newly spacious bed; For as many times as desired, since there is no pesky social creature trying to lure one out of the room. The EP closes with
Sun, a song akin to
Lily, as it starts off melodic and soft, until turning onto the heavier side of alternative rock.
Moaning Lisa show expertise in crafting songs rooted in the wide spectrum of rock and grunge. You won't need to listen to the entire EP to figure out they got the heartfelt ballads down as much as the exhilarating feel-good songs; they manage to merge their influences into tight 4 minute listens, and enjoyably so. I'm looking forward to what they have in store for us next, and if you're at all interested in glimpsing into the grungy life of up-and-coming artists who are still a little lost in their journey but making the best of every moment, give these girls a listen.
