REVIEW. THE PRISCILLAS --- ALOHA FROM HOLLOWAY

The debut CD from The Priscillas features the 4 tracks from their first 2 limited edition vinyl releases plus an extra track, Can't Decide (which is OK but to be honest, I preferred Winner off their original demo CD).   The girls blaze their way through some stomping garage rock lightened up with bubblegum pop touches like handclaps and vocal harmonies.  For some reason, this time round I was reminded of bands like The Sweet or Suzi Quatro --- bands who did storming rock and roll anthems without taking themselves too seriously and whose feelgood songs were backed up by some great playing.  Remember when rock & roll really was that fun, that sexy and that effortlessly cool?  When Phil Spector produced The Ramones this is how they should have sounded.
The CD emphasises their pop side more than their live shows where they tend to sound heavier and punkier.  The two videos on the CD (Gonna Rip Up Your Photograph and All My Friends Are Zombies) are fairly straightforward low budget performances which still manage to do a good job of capturing their energy and style.  The band are currently working on their debut album and I think it will be interesting to see if they can keep up the high standards they've set over the course of a full album.

NOTE:   They've since released 2 singles, One Christmas Wish (download only) and Superhero (limited edition 7 inch vinyl) which showcased more of a poppier sound.  Both videos are up on You Tube and I particularly like Superhero for it's Barbie doll house party.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MAY 2008.