BRAT
Social Grace
‘Barbiegrind’ newcomers need to think beyond the pink
Brat are taking ‘bimbocore’ through the looking glass
PROSTHETIC
WELCOME TO THE yassification of metal. From Scene Queen’s provocative bimbocore to the nu metallic girly pop of Rain Paris, there’s currently a crop of up’n’comers trading heavy music’s black for pink, its machismo for sexual liberation.
Brat claim a place in this movement –but whether their ‘barbiegrind’ earns them a seat at the table remains to be seen.
At first glance, the New Orleans deathgrind darlings look like they’d fit right in. Promo pics show the quartet, led by singer Liz Selfish, glaring in front of neon mansions and enjoying a spot of tea in a rose garden. They sell t-shirts referencing Mean Girls (guess what colour they are) and have previously sampled Britney Spears. So far, so fetch. However, while the names leading this next generation frequently thread that vibrant femininity into their music, Social Grace doesn’t. Pull away the shots of the band and the brightly coloured logo on the cover, and what’s left is 10 songs of no-frills deathgrind.
Admittedly, as a no-frills deathgrind album, this debut is a sturdy one. Opener Ego Death’s braking from lightspeed force to groovy riffing hammers back to Harmony Corruption-era Napalm Death. Then Hesitation Wound barrages with chords and pinch harmonics, before Rope Drag’s rumbling tremolo feels worthy of a place on any Tampa death metal record. Beatdowns and roars abound throughout these 1o tracks, each with the potential to incite a hardy basement mosh.