The Pipettes + The Grates

This time I present to you two excellent bands mainly led by the girls. The Pipettes are more pop oriented, they deliver catchy rhythms and poppy sounds comparable to The Go! Team. The Grates are more into the rock thing, alike Yeah Yeah Yeahs, playing energetic, enjoyable guitar rock and having exciting live performances. I recommend you to check them both.

The Pipettes

The Pipettes are formed by the promoter 'Monster' Bobby with the intention of reviving the traditional Phil Spector pop sound and giving it a modern twist. To this end he recruited three frontwomen to be the public face of the group. The male backing musicians (officially called "The Casettes") rarely appear in interviews or promo photos, adding mystique and emphasising the role of the singers. The group settled on a lineup in mid 2004 and after losing founding member Julia in early 2005 have progressed apace.

Three extremely limited edition vinyl releases were released over the summer of 2005, leading to the group being signed to Memphis Industries, home to The Go! Team amongst others. They recently released their first full single and undertook several headline dates of their own in addition to some high profile support slots with the likes of The Magic Numbers and British Sea Power. The three frontwomen always wear polka dot dresses and synchronised choreography is a major part of their live shows.

As of January 2006, the band are currently working on their debut album. HMV Online have a provisional release date of June 5th 2006. Their latest single 'Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me' was released on March 27 on Memphis Industries.

The Pipettes @ MySpace


The Grates
The Grates are a three-piece band from Brisbane, Australia, comprised of Patience Hodgson (vocals), John Patterson (guitar) and Alana Skyring (drums). They have been lauded for their catchy songs and enthusiastic and energetic live show (Patience spends much of the show bouncing around, even while singing). They are frequently described as fun: "We just wanna have fun and hope other people do too." Their sound has been compared to the Ramones, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Be Your Own Pet. In March 2006 they played at the South by Southwest trade music fair in Texas.

The band has a distinctive style. All three members have a background in art and they design their own album artwork, posters, t-shirts and even socks. They released an array of limited edition recordings before releasing what is referred to as their debut EP, The Ouch. The Touch, in Australia on 14 February 2005. The EP received a United Kingdom release two months later via the Captains Of Industry collective. An 8-track recording of one of the band's songs, "Trampoline", was submitted to national Australian radio station Triple J in 2004. The song was well-received, and appeared on the nominations list for Triple J's 2004 Hottest 100 alongside two other Grates songs, "Rock Boys" and "Sukkafish". In 2005 the buzz surrounding the band only grew, with festival performances at the Big Day Out, Meredith, Falls Festival and Homebake.

Their debut album, Gravity Won't Get You High, was released on April 8, 2006. It debuted at #9 in the ARIA charts and reached a peak of #9. It has also been slated for release in the UK and the United States (June 2006). The first single off the album, "19-20-20", was released in March as a 7" and iTunes music download. They have been growing in popularity since being invited to perform at the 2006 Big Day Out Australian leg. They also launched on a national tour in the first half of 2006.

The Grates - Accelerator (Patience Only)
The Grates @ MySpace

Bonus:
Butthole Surfers - The Wierd Revolution !!!
New Order - Live At Cirkus !!!
David Bowie - Live At The Sydney Entertainment Center (2CD) !!!
+ Autechre, Joy Division, Sublime, The Germs, etc.
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/hp56y
Phish - Live
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/z6okz
Lacuna Coil, Shaman, The Gathering, Edguy, H.I.M., Apocalyptica, etc.
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/j2ugj
Indie Electronic: Frost, Xploding Plastix, Hybrid, etc.
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/qry5d