Skinny Girl Diet / Ethical Debating Society – split 7″ (HHBTM)
On principle I refuse to use the term “riot grrrl” to describe anything unleashed into the world after the era when Bikini Kill roamed the earth, but these two bands of upstarts from London are conjuring the sound of the modern boy-girl revolution that seems to be flourishing right now in the UK (just don’t call it riot grrrl). Delia (guitar/vocals), Ursula (drums/vocals), & Amelia (bass/vocals) of Skinny Girl Diet are all apparently “school-age”, which one can only assume means the School of Slampt Records – their lo-fi, ramshackle brat-punk would fit in perfectly with the likes of International Strike Force or Golden Starlet. On their side of the split “DMT” twists clattering drums, fuzzed out garage-trash guitar & echo chamber vocals into the sort of wiry punk rager that brings to mind teenage girl-punks of yesteryear Skinned Teen, while “Homesick” speeds up and slows down with reckless abandon as the gang vocals weave in and out, alternating between a deadpan monotone and throat shredding shriek.
On the flip, Ethical Debating Society take the rough with the smooch, drawing similar inspiration from the youth underground revolution anthems of Huggy Bear and Nation of Ulysess – all dual-guitar/no bass suckerpunches and incediary co-ed vocals shouting “COME ON!” and “RIGHT NOW!”. Kris and Tegan’s urgent call and response vocals on “Child’s Play” and “Creosote Ideas” pass the Red Monkey test with flying color’s, toning down that (woefully under appreciated) band’s post-punk angularity for raw basic anger. Totally righteous. – Erika Elizabeth