Scottish 4-piece Isabella Strange are named after an ancestor of vocalist and guitarist Kira Wolfe-Murray’s from the 1700s. In a recent interview in The Skinny, Wolfe-Murray shared:
“She was allegedly a Jacobite’s wife and a Jacobite herself. The first time I heard her name I thought it was so striking. I couldn’t imagine an Isabella Strange in the 18th century – must have been a badass. Thing is, there’s not much about her written down, which kind of leaves a lot to the imagination. I thought that was quite fun. To me it was like breathing some life into her name again. Now Isabella Strange is a four-piece punk band with raw jams and feminist undertones. Hope my gal approves the message.”
Isabella Strange release their debut EP Slick Git on 1 February. The title is inspired by the band’s habit of exploring male egotists and opens with ‘Sally’s Day’, a rockin’ and rollin’ blast of a track. It bursts forth at pace, grabbing the ears with its immediate and yet edgy bounce and Wolf-Murray vocals full of expressive passion. In contrast ‘Slick Git’ follows, with its deadpan vocal delivery by guitarist Finlay Robson. It’s a dense track more gothic in its vibe, gorgeously textured where the guitars lead the way. Robson explains the inspiration behind the song:
“When writing ‘Slick Git’ I was inspired by this poet, John Berryman; he wrote kind of nervous and surreal confessional poems in his book, “The Dream Songs”, and I was really into them at the time. That became the focus of the lyrics, I think, a general sort of uneasiness and apprehension.”
‘3:05AM’ is an ethereal stream of conscience, perhaps the words that came whirling into the lyricists head in the middle of the night, words that once lodged are hard to shift and go round in a loop. It provides a moment’s pause for thought before launching into the heavy bass intro to ‘Karma 5’. This is a highlight on Slick Git with its Cramps style guitar riffs. The theme is thought-provoking: “it’s always karma, it’s always my fault.” Wolfe-Murray has said that one of the themes of Slick Git is “feeling hard done by” which is a turn of phrase which expresses everything, and is perhaps most relevant for ‘Karma 5′. There are times when life feels like a lose-lose whatever one does, in spite of the actions of others. That tight sharp finish is pure class: “you said I could cry but had to move on soon.”
Slick Git finishes as it started with the upbeat ‘Unfinished Business’. It showcases Isabella Strange’s more playful side, adding a lightness of touch, and a few lines in French! The track builds in energy as it progresses, those pounding drums seeing the track and the EP out in a sonic style, although it all seems to end too soon.
Isabella Strange have produced a debut EP which showcases the talent of the 4-piece. With its variety of soundscapes they are not a one trick pony but a band who are demonstrating they mean business from the get-go. They celebrate the release of the EP in Edinburgh with Bikini Body and Cowboy Hunters in Voodoo Rooms on Saturday 1 February.
Review: 7 out of 10.
For more information on Isabella Strange please check their facebook and instagram.