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angelica kittens, lipstick and badly tuned guitars ~ angelica - bristol louisiana 17/04/00 Angelica-world is an informal and serene place, verging on the unconcerned. After playing to London's pretty young things in the Astoria at a sold out NME show, touring venues such as this tiny Bristol pub may seem a step back in the wrong direction. But, the four members of Angelica give the impression that this is an extended holiday, a perfect excuse to take a break from university and treat whoever bothers to turn up to a slice of their adolescent, fizzy, sometimes disturbing pop. It's all too obvious to go into - form a band at school out of boredom, learn to play together, record some songs.... "I can't remember why we formed to be quite honest, it's a case of why do people play sport or chess, it's because they want to and it's fun". Lead singer/guitarist Holly, ponders for oh, all of two seconds before affirming, "It's not because we wanted to become famous." They describe themselves as "bolshy, hysterical, loud, historical and beautiful" and bubble with all the enthusiasm of musicians who haven't given many interviews, side stepping questions, sharing personal anecdotes and betraying a complete lack of faith in what they are doing. Brigit (bass) claims their success so far is entirely due to a "four letter word called LUCK, we don't deserve any more credit than that". I tell them that they are becoming a cult, underground sensation and the last two singles are coveted items. Holly modestly admits, "It's nice to hear that because I was always really into small, unknown bands and I'm glad I'm now in one like that rather than a band that achieve chart success." They claim their influences are riot grrrl bands, Sonic Youth and PJ Harvey, but inevitably end up being compared to Kenickie. The new mini-album 'The End of a Beautiful Career' alternates between blissful, melodic harmonies and crunching, powerful guitars. 'Bring Back Her Head' is last year's best kept secret (owing to the fact only 500 copies were pressed) - a smouldering, evil track, disguised behind a sugar sweet exterior of whispering vocals and peaceful, recurrent riffs. "It wouldn't have made sense to release another song like 'Why did You let my Kitten Die?' as that song isn't really representative of what we're like anyhow," Brigit states. Fortunately that doesn't mean that Angelica have abandoned the whimsical, charming cuteness present in that track. 'Professional' status is the last thing they desire - singing and playing in tune would signal an end to the fun. At present they rely on their personality and wit, certain idiosyncrasies in their set (starting to play the wrong song, insulting each other, heckling with the crowd) to carry them through. Which perhaps explains why the future is irrelevant - "We'll release an album if we can write some more songs, but it depends if they let us out again after this tour." The heckling is a BIG thing. Trust me. Brigit enlightens us on last night's gig - "Holly heckled me in Nottingham, I heckled her. Claire heckled me. Holly told me to get my tits out and I told her to get her cock out. Then we all chanted 'youÕre shit', all three of us." If this is a tactic to deal with the indifference of the crowd then it works. It also reveals that Angelica are not stupid - not taking themselves seriously enables them to carry on and not be fazed by people recognising them (shock!) or buying their album (horror!). They get away with it like rowdy, disobedient school children, luring us in with promises of guillotines, dead kittens, unhappy concubines and glaring red eyes. They bicker, amusing themselves whilst we watch, unable to join in. To quote Holly, their fans are the misfits of society, "old men, little boys with make up on and lesbians". So which category do you fit in to? louisa thomson back to interviews>>> |
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