THE LOLLIES �
�BANG! BANG! BANG! LOOKOUT! LOOKOUT! LOOKOUT!�
(5-track EP/ 2000)
Fancy-free pop rolling throughout, vocalists/ guitarists Kate St. Claire and Jane Mountain sound common, but without Shampoo�s bolshie �I�m it � look at me!� self-centred arrogance. Multi-cultured as a 4-piece, London-based band (in some respects), 2 members are Canadian, one�s a New York girl at heart, while Rachel Angel, methinks, is the unfortunate soul from Essex, that�s in England! This 4-track EP�s old and a very poor recording, the rawness of their live guitar sound disappointingly AWOL, but The Lollies could still give STEPS a racy run for the big-bucks with their arrogance-less, soft pop-rock that couldn�t be more down-to-earth if digging its way through to Australia on �the other side.� �(Be My) Bad Boyfriend� has a fairground feel, but comes second-best in the catchability stakes to highlight track 3, �Boycrush Pusher�� Alright, so they sound to have nicked the shit-roasted riff from Sack Trick�s �My Math�s Teacher Speaks Words Of Wisdom� pop-rock insight, but no wonder when the riff�s that great. Thematically, these 3 women (leaving the sole male - in Master Dan Lazowski - drumming) totally wimp-out in falling for a man, going against most things true �love �n� leave �em like they do us� feminists stand for? Melodically-blessed, in �Boycrush� alone there are potentially 3 great songs in one, viewing blood-unrelated sexual relations in the old-fashioned, socially-strict manifesto (�Don�t dare to dream or think what comes next � wouldn�t wanna ruin this with sex�), contradicting Bad Boyfriend�s eagerness to jump back into bed ASAP: �My dad said it was against the law � wouldn�t let me see my Bobby no more/ when daddy caught me and B in bed, said he�d get a gun and shoot Bobby dead� it�s been 2 years since we had sex.� Mixed messages forgotten, track 2, �I Found Myself At The Supermarket� (�If I should be so impolite as to die, wrap me up in the frozen foods aisle� make money off me�), is more of a seriously light-hearted tongue-twister, cutesily sugar-bloated and about chain �BOGOF (�Buy one, Get one free�) deals� slavishly labouring as I do for �Iceland,� it�s been drilled into me that we were first on the block to start such deals, yet we don�t get a mention. Adolescents-@-heart up to track 4, �Dayjob Nightmare� is seriously serious, philosophically guided even, despite the poppy overtones: a concise short-story about a young woman at breaking point in the office, who thinks doing a �Hideous Kinky� to Morocco�ll save her sanity� �There�s more to life than being overweight and underpaid/ she walked through the office with a gun and pulled it on her bosses, and told them in the future you can make your own damn coffee!� LOVE IT! But then, bizarrely, there�s the ultimate pop-out with the funkiest, sassily craziest rendition of Travis� �Why Does It Always Rain On Me?� Soul-destroyed by The Lollies it may have been, but it fills a space. As easy-going as heaven, this EP could be listened to non-stop all day; they are cheesier than countless Mr. Bigs, but unhealthily addictive and tamely rock-toting for full angst-free impact. (STEVE RUDD)
CONTACT THE LOLLIES�
www.thelollies.co.uk or [email protected] or http://arrive.at/winecellar