IDestroy - ' We Are Girls'

As an old, dad-rocking geezer, I’m not sure I fall into the target demographic this is primarily aimed at. They’re a young all-female band (there’s a clue in the album title), the cover art comes in nice pastel shades, shitty male behaviour gets called out in some of the lyrics and there’s a real Riot Grrrl vibe going on. That’s fair enough; there’s plenty rock music aimed at old farts like me but - and I hope the girls don’t mind - I still really enjoyed it because it’s a ‘make-you-smile-but-kick-your-ass’ kind of a record with some great tunes and intelligent tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

The video for the song “Petting Zoo” is an energetic and entertaining romp featuring the band in animal onesies but that slightly disguises the hard-hitting message in the song which (quite rightly) rips into unwanted touchy-feely antics at gigs and clubs.

The title track has quirky pop charm; a bit like a slightly punkier B52s in places. But there’s plenty venom in songs like “G.O.D.” and “Lemons” albeit delivered in an intelligent and entertaining way. “Death Party” and “Sick Friend” are a lot more fun than their titles might suggest; the former has a very sprightly riff and a charming drums & vocal breakdown, while the latter has a sick-in-a-good-way bass line.

“Swim” might be my favourite. It’s a whole story told concisely in 2:13 minutes which, in the hands of navel-gazers, might have been stretched out. Not these girls – the whole 10 song set is wrapped up in under 30 minutes.