WENCH! A Riot Grrrl whirlwind from the banks of the Humber
EP REVIEW | WENCH! – RELAXING RAIN SOUNDS FOR BABY SLEEP by Tom Whittleton
Hull 3-piece WENCH! are breathing fresh air into the postindustrial lungs of the city’s often overlooked, but never to be underestimated punk scene.
Relaxing Rain Sounds For Baby Sleep is exactly what you want from a debut EP. Stripped back and lean, a pocket-sized collection of Riot Grrrl punk with an edge of serious musical chops breaking away from the traditional “3 chords and the truth” foundation of the genre.
With no member of the band in their 20s (It would appear I’m getting old by Hull punk standards) WENCH! Have a future in the world of noise making chaos. Singer and Drummer Kit is a barnstorming combination of 80s hardcore crashing with vocals so pissed off I’m not just scared- I’m terrified of being decapitated by a flying ride cymbal.
Bass player Hebe backs up the rhythm section attack with a Geezer/Butler-esque playing style adding both a heavy low-end but helping build on the melody. Guitar duties are taken up with a valiant fury by Seven. Garage riffs and that cutting aggression that makes you want to cause yourself significant physical injury in a sweaty punk club mosh pit.
The first track from the EP is “Yeti Legs” a thrashy all or nothing garage punk bopper which establishes the attitude and style of WENCH! Going forward. A bass twang intro leads into that all important “1,2,3,4” callout as guitar and drums launch a full-frontal attack on the ears.
Kits vocals are reminiscent of the newer wave of Riot Grrrl in the form of the Lambrini Girls or Amyl and The Sniffers, though not a blatant genre following rip off. There’s something classically raw about the opening track. If this EP had landed on my door in the form of a sharpie marked cassette from the 80’s it would feel right at home amongst the work of Bikini Kill or L7.
The next tune is “Heavy Feather” is an ode to the music scene fuck boy the bloke who is impossibly pretentious generally grim arsehole who somehow manages to punch way above his league. Another monster bass riff intro from Hebe and straight into the tongue in cheek lyrics about the aforementioned boy “He dresses well, he has manners he will even brush his teeth, he washes every day but still his nose ring smells of cheese” – an ace bit of not so subtle commentary on the type of “Lad” we all know. I find myself smirking as I write this listening to the lyric “He wants to suck Piers Morgan’s cock, but he won’t suck on mine” there’s a sense of a band having massive amounts of fun in the studio enjoying the value in being a young angry punk band saying quite literally anything they want.
It might be my civic pride but WENCH! are a product of the same music scene that birthed my love of all things loud, out there and punky. The walls of Hull’s New Adelphi club the beating heart of artistic resistance in a long-forgotten city breathe with that indefinite energy that can only produce bands like WENCH! and in my time too many groups to mention here.
Track 3 keeps the energy up “Be Tame” is the most overtly political song from the EP with a gritted teeth, might rip your throat out feminist spirit starting with a bass fuzzed up section of Dick Dales “Miserlou” this is far away from the beach surf of Dicks 60s rock n roll. There’s a vulnerability in the lyrics something which is a welcome moment of introspection “wishing I was cool but I’m softer than I want to be” showing WENCH! are not afraid to talk about the self-conscious aspect of musicianship. The band are hitting their stride, and you can tell they are sharp from a solid 2 years of consistent gigs. The song finishes with an all-out explosion of noise and primal screaming.
Re-adjust your Doc Marten’s for the last slice of WENCH! energy. “Vincent Van Knob” is a massive middle finger to sexists everywhere its promising in its sheer aggression. It’s the only song on the EP that falls slightly flatter than the rest; the repetition of “piss off” as a chorus line takes away from the intelligence of the lyrics, slipping into genre stereotype. Yet it is not without a massive wall of noise that bangs the head and more of that howling animal rage which for a new and young band the attitude is refreshing when faced with too cool for school post punk bands.
Politically educated enough to make any far-right meathead shiver in their stone island jacket with a street urchin edge that can only come from the council estates and terrace house jungles of Hull. WENCH! have released a seriously promising EP.
Gaining some airplay across East Yorkshire and announcing a slot at Leeds Fest on the BBC introducing stage, WENCH! are about to make a name for themselves if you like it or not. Relaxing Rain Sounds for Baby Sleep is out now.
