It’s a weird bird! It’s weird plane! It’s Alien Chicks!
Ahhhhhh I really dig this band and this song. So ominous. So groovy in the low end. I discovered Alien Chicks (London; Brixton, more specifically) in 2023 after Anthony Chapman (who mastered my band’s last record) did some work with them. I’m imagining that maybe the frenetic crystal ball scene in this video is actually just behind-the-scenes footage of the band going through that proverbially enigmatic mastering process. What’s happening in there? Who really knows? Can I eat it?
Alien Chicks are Josef Lindsay (guitar/vox), Stefan Parker-Steele (bass/vox), and Martha Daniels (drums/backing vox). This experimental post-punk power trio have released a handful of singles over the past two years, which I highly recommend listening to right now. It looks like not quite everything is available on their Bandcamp, so behold their Spotify:
The video for Alien Chicks’ latest single “Curtains Up” is giving me some Lost Boys/light Cabinet of Dr. Caligari vibes. I love that it’s dark and creepy while conveying the band’s sense of humor— Lindsay’s moment of fixing his hair in the crystal ball is a perfect touch. Musically the track has got some really fun and engaging vocals which does not surprise me from this band. Kudos to singers that manage to fit speedy, complex lines in between most excellent screams.
Side note. Can I tell you… can I just tell you? As a Female Drummer and Bassist™️ who has had to think a lot about representation vs. tokenism and novelty over the past almost 30 years, when I find a loud-ass band either in post-punk country or math territory, *I get really fucking excited when the drummer turns out to be another woman. I exist in this space where part of me doesn’t want to comment on it at all after yelling so much about normalizing our existence. But especially in these genres, it just lights up my fucking soul to know that a woman is providing that foundation for the music and that she’s what’s amping it all up at its core. Let’s high five. Let’s get beers. Let’s make really loud noises.
Alien Chicks have an EP coming out July 18th via Hideous Mink Records and SO Recordings. It’s already on my calendar so you’d best catch up.
~RMSC
*Getting to see/hear Sara Lund drum for Unwound back in March in Boston (UUUUUGGGGGHHHH) was a thing of beauty. This whole room full of bespectacled and bearded Tape Op guys in hats (no shade: it’s my favorite kind of crowd, as they’re clearly enthusiastic but there’s little threat of my being knocked over) nodding in 5 to her hitting things. More of that please. There’s just something about it.