Pins - Girls Like Us

Album review by tatjana@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

I have a not so secret aversion to girl bands. It’s unfortunate when you consider a) I'm not helping the sisterhood and b) we are grossly under-represented in the Australian charts right now. My "thing" stems somewhere between a disdain for that irritating breathy fairy sound and that monotonous drone that never endures for more than one track and may have tainted me forever (I'm looking at you deadpan '90s drawlers Elastica and L7). Then here's a foursome from Manchester that thankfully have the gritty musicality to temper my dodgy grrl-power misconceptions.

'Girls Like Us' borrows heavily from PJ Harvey's 'Rid Of Me' - not that I'm complaining - while 'Mad For You' could be used in Geordie Shore as the soundtrack to a much cooler than usual romantic drunken declaration (as if your remote hasn't paused on this show, shutup). 'Stay True' held the predictable' "he’s a loser" type lyric I'd been dreading, but when you start to get excited about the possibility of seeing a band live that you had never heard before, they're doing something right.

Closing track 'The Darkest Day' sealed the deal, with that sinister/pretty sound of amazing ingénues Bridezilla; a carousel of guitar and drums slowly building behind sexy reverb. I know I'm full of regret but I don't feel it yet. There's a hint (and a riff borrow) of all the great Brit bands that have gone before, but whether it's just the tribal drumming amidst my nostalgia for grungy guitar, they just make it work. They’re the Stoned Roses of new Mancunian hip (feel free to use that one) and I for one am a convert.

Pins' website

Buy the album

Catch them live:

Thursday 24th October - La Peniche, Lille, France
Friday 25th October - Point Ephemere, Paris, France
Saturday 26th October - Le Sonic, Lyon, France
Monday 28th October - Glasgow ABC (w/ Warpaint)
Tuesday 29th October - Manchester Academy (w/ Warpaint)
Wednesday 30th October - Brixton Academy (w/ Warpaint)
Wednesday 4th December - The Pavillion, Cork
Thursday 5th December - Bourkes, Limerick
Friday 6th December - The Workmans, Dublin
Saturday 7th December - Roisin Dubh, Galway
Thursday 12th December - TBA
Friday 13th December - The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Saturday 14th December - TBA





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