An Incarnation of Brody: Spinnerette

Anyone who knows anything about me knows I’m just another Brody Dalle fan girl. I am about as close to being in love with Brody Dalle as I can without being completely creepy. This obsession used to be more pronounced, but recently it’s taken a back seat to other obsessions. Why? Because Brody Dalle forsook us!

With the demise of The Distillers (congress rest its soul), there was a Brody sized hole left in the fabric of the music-time continuum. After years of pointlessly and obsessively googling for updates on Brody I gave up.

My most excellent cousin, Taylor, mentioned the other day that Spinnerette, Brody’s new band, finally came out with something. My ears perked up. I started to excitedly wiggle a little bit. In typical Anderson fashion though, I promptly forgot all about it.

…Enter, today. Sitting at work, listening to my last.fm library, The Distillers came on. I hadn’t listened to them in ages. Suddenly I had a desire to listen to the entire Distillers catalog all night. Suddenly I missed Brody. Suddenly I remembered Spinnerette and their supposed release!

A little internet spelunking proved my cousin correct. Not only was there an EP, there was also a full length. Fifteen new Brody songs. I listened to what I could online, and one of the first things I did when I got home was order their self-titled full length. I also tried to order the Ghetto Love EP… But it was only a digital release. As much as I love instant gratification, I prefer hard copies. This may have something to do with the frequency with which my computers self destruct.

Despite only a digital release, I plunked down my $5 and had the music in minutes.

The first thing I did was watch the music video for Ghetto Love. It came with the digital release from their website. It’s lovely. It’s quite simple, but has Brody popping out from behind Brody for back-up vocals. Any song that fits multiple incarnations of Brody into it is okay by me.

The EP to me seems the next logical step after The Distillers’ Coral Fang. Brody’s singing style is roughly the same from that album: more smoky vocals, less yelling. The Music accompanying her is tamed down a little too. The angry anthems of Sing Sing Death House are long, long gone. Coming close to growing up with The Distillers, I like this. Sing Sing Death House was perfect for my pissed off little 15 year old self. This new stuff is perfect for that same pissed off little 15 year old 7 years down the line. The sharper points are sanded down, but with that transformation is also a suddenly danceable beat hidden within most of the songs of this EP.

Predominantly I would say this is a rock album. Easily teased out are elements of punk and grunge, one may even say ‘post-punk.’ Aside from these broad categories, a subtle layer of beats hides, unassuming until I found myself prancing around the living room in a way The Distillers never made me prance before. This danceable current easily falls within the broad basis of rock-punk-grunge, leaving it hiding in the shadows, present but not pointedly so.

For a four song EP i’m impressed. I cannot wait until my package comes in.

What to take away…

Spinnerette is undeniably a musical force steered by Brody. Her musical style has evolved into something bigger than her punk days of yore, but that’s not saying it’s a bad thing. it’s just a different thing. Any Brody-whore will like it. An enjoyment of rock and punk outside of the usual Hellcat Records paradigm will help with the appreciation.

What should you expect?

Well fashioned songs of what seems to me to be a unique fusion of musical styles formed into a new style that is hard to pigeonhole.

What drink to pair with it?

Bourbon, from the bottle.

Favorite Song?

Ghetto Love seems to be the best of her new style. Smokey vocals, a good beat, and well timed yelling make it a great opening song. Valium Knights is also wonderful, and it seems to me to be reminiscent of Brody’s older style, specifically the Coral Fang album.