Taken By: Crystal Morris

After a few “practice” gigs in LA, the UK and an EP release,  Spinnerette’s album finally hit stores on Tues. June 23rd in the US on Canadian indie label Anthem Records. The new CD is the first long-awaited full-length album that we’ve heard from frontwoman Brody Dalle in about 6 years. You can see it on the “new release” shelves at HMV in Canada and the UK, and hopefully at Best Buy stores in the US. I say hopefully, because prior to Spinnerette’s first performance after the CD release at the Troubadour, it was difficult enough to find the CD in Best Buy stores surrounding LA and the Inland. Prior to playing at the Troubadour, Spinnerette played a few gigs in Ontario, including Call the Office in London and a nearly Sold Out gig at the Mod Club for NXNE.

The crowd at the Troubadour was an odd array of age ranges . I assume that it was possibly  due to Har Mar Superstar opening, whom Tony Bevilacqua, guitarist for Spinnerette, has played with for several years. At the past few Spinnerette shows I’ve seen people I haven’t in five years; it was surprising to me to have seen them at all in some cases. Lime green mohawks have been reduced to slightly tamer brown ones, homemade zebra print purses replaced by LAMB bags and I saw old Distillers fans who were visiting, and in some cases migrating to LA from UK, Canada and even Alaska.  Everyone is grown up, five years older, slightly wiser, but are still some of the baddest motherfuckers that I know. If you walk through the room of Spinnerette fans it encapsulate the feel on the album. Spinnerette is refined but will still kick you in the face. The album is mature but still has that same underlying feeling of Dalle’s killer song writing and lyricism.

Spinnerette isn’t that much of a massive departure from The Distillers, but more of a  natural progression. On songs like  “All Babes are Wolves”, “A Spectral Suspension” and “A Prescription for Mankind” it’s hard to decide what’s more explosive, the arena riffs or Dalle’s signature razor-like vocals. This shit rocks hard like the best out of the 90s, with an old psychedelic soul in the vein of The Pixies, Roky Erickson and The Coral. You’ll hear the remnants of Dalle’s signature punk 4 chord melodies in “Bury My Heart”  and “Cupid”, coupled with a haunting resonance.

The album is audibly interesting and you’re going to be surprised by a lot of the songs. Crowd favorite and one of the catchiest tracks is “Sex Bomb”, it’s pure sweet pop beats over filthy rough vocals. The song has been released three times, my favourite being the Adam Freeland remix. Each release is different and they are all worth a listen. “Geeking” and “Rebellious Palpitations” reveal a new, fun and playful side.

“Impaler” is the perfect song for a Canadian audience, it’s awesome juxtaposition of spectre-like melodies and roots acoustic folk courtesy of  producer Alain Johannes. If you’re sick of Puddle of NickleCreed, crave pop music that’ll get you fuck you up worse than Lady Gaga or miss what music was, you‘ll probably think that Spinnerette is a saving grace.

Four years ago marked the end of The Distillers. Their last album, “Coral Fang” released on Sire/Warner, had significant commercial success, but many were not aware that The Distiller’s performance at Holiday Havoc on Nov. 14th, 2004 was going to be their last show. Seemingly due to artistic differences, The Distillers dissolved and managed to drop Sire/Warner. Four years later, a new relationship to Queens of the Stone Age front-man Josh Homme, one little red-headed baby girl, Camille, and we now have Spinnerette; a 10-peice conglomeration consisting of a recording band and touring band, fronted by Brody Dalle. Spinnerette have recently released a 4-song EP “Ghetto Love” independently, with the help of Toronto-based SRO Management.

Now here is the Canadian kicker- It has just been announced that Spinnerette has signed to Canadian indie label Anthem Records. If you haven’t heard of Anthem, the record label was created around the legendary Canadian prog-rock recording artist Rush. Why Anthem? Turns out they couldn’t find a label to sign them in the US, go figure.

It was announced that Spinnerette would be performing their first three shows in the Los Angeles area. Not wanting to miss their first couple shows, I went with friends to go check them out at Spaceland in Los Angeles on Oct 30th. The venue reminded me of the Bovine but bigger with a giant smoking lounge. The first few bands on stage were respectable, and there was a DJ spinning tunes in the back room. As the room began to fill-up, it became apparent that this wasn’t just a regular gig. Brody’s seat across the bar was taken up by Kat Von D, I passed Julian from the Strokes on the stairs and literally bumped in to Josh Homme on the way to the bathroom, where I proceeded to shit myself. This was a real NME pretend-not-to-notice-who-is-around-you-and-try-not-to-crap-your-pants-gig.

When Spinnerette hit the stage, Brody was visibly nervous, apologized to the crowd, humbly claiming that gig was “just practice”, but as soon as they kicked into the first couple songs, it became apparent that this wasn’t just a practice gig. One Chord Wonder punk melodies have been translated to sexy bass lines, interjected by 70s psychedelic-esque guitar parts performed by Tony Bevilacqua and guitarist Bryan Tulao. Lyrical stunners like “Valium Knights” explores the ostensible relationship between JFK/Marilyn Monroe. Cool songs like rhythm-heavy “Bury My Heart” are undeniably catchy. “Distorting A Code” is probably the most audibly interesting on the EP, infiltrated by wispy vocals and hauntingly distorted guitar. New bassist Nicole Fiorentino, formerly Veruca Salt, is spectre-like on stage, and an absolute sweetheart off… and don’t worry Distillers fans, Brody still has enough grit in her voice to rip your face off, while smiling (I.e. “Sex Bomb“).

Sex Bomb from their first show in Santa Barbara:

Here is some video footage of “Valium Knights” we took for you to enjoy:

It’s looking like a whole new indie scene for Toronto in 2009. With bands like Fucked Up and Spinnerette looking like they are going to blow-up Canada and re-assemble the little pieces left over, maybe the damn high-hat jingle beat that perpetuates popular Canadian indie music is finally dead.

Look out for the new Spinnerette CD this coming February (tentative). Spinnerette are currently touring in the UK, check out their website for details.