New York two piece Lady Bizness released their debut EP Who Do You Think You Are on August 26th of this year. Only just discovering the band myself two weeks ago (thank you Riot Grrrl Facebook groups!) it was track number 2’s chorus that compelled me to buy the EP; surf-punk guitar coupled with assertive female voices chanting “Who wants to, be famous. Who wants to die for art!” that would be the type of thing that gets me SOLD.
The track, named Female Trouble, is my perfect kind of punk song; fun with a message and short yet rallying. I can imagine the crowd getting seriously in to it at shows and shouting “Hard-core Art!” at the top of their lungs when the line comes around.
Back to the beginning for a moment, the EP’s opener is an instrumental piece, Racecar Riot, which although may seem out of place with the other tracks, actually works really well and is a great tribute to the band’s surf-core influences.
Speaking of influences, guitarist and backing vocalist Kate Hoos skilfully brings her varied range of musical taste to this EP in a true and uncompromising fashion. From surf to Riot Grrrl to classic punk, her ability to channel these genres whilst still creating and maintaining Lady Bizness’s own sound is an awesome talent making this record totally worth your time.
Alongside Kate we have the addictive voice of Krystal Glow; radiating angst, sarcasm, intelligence and knowing all at the same time. The way she uses her vocals on Anthem makes the song sound like there’s more going on than there is; she changes the way that you hear the music whilst the guitar line actually stays the same, giving the auditory illusion that there are more instruments at play.
Not only is this a great showcase of both musicians skills, Who Do You Think You Are is a brilliant example of poignant and opinionated song writing. From Zoo, calling out the recent rise of slacktivistism and its ignorant followers, to Liez with its fuck your ideals chorus “There’s no fucking failure coz there’s no fucking saviour” the feminist and political vibes are strong giving the record a very real, raw honesty that you can totally get behind.
All in all this is a brilliant piece of work and I’m so excited that there’s a great band out there making the type of music I love, all be it on the other side of the world! I have genuinely listened to this EP every day for the past week; it gives me a much needed daily dose of motivational anger and Riot Grrrl feels to get me through the day.
Lady Bizness are hoping to release a full length album next year so check them out on Facebook to keep up to date and purchase Who Do You Think You Are from Bandcamp in the mean time to keep you going! Also keep an eye out on here for my upcoming interview with Kate Hoos herself in the next couple of days.