Bristol trio Idestroy follow in the footsteps of Girlschool, The Runaways and Joan Jett to bring us their debut EP, Vanity Loves me. Clocking in at under 12 minutes the four track EP certainly wastes no time.
The titular track, Vanity Loves Me sets up the scene and tone for the band and the rest of the EP. Bec Jevons's nonchalant vocals tease with an 'I don't give a fuck' swagger whilst being feminine and melodic enough for you to sit up and take notice. Becky Baldwin's bass riff is as infectious as her 'woah oh oh oh' backing vocals, Jenn Haneef on drums is an impressive driving force, giving the band the ferocious punk edge. 'Perfection is her name' certainly sums up this pint-sized pop punk track. Idestroy is a bubbling volcano to good old angst and possibly a bit of PMT as Jevons warns, “I'm angry and I like to be, and when I'm angry you should stay away from me.” A thrashing guitar riff gradually builds to an irrational moment of insanity, although it never quite let's rip as much as you feel that it should.
Talking Shit is an ode to letting your hair down at the weekend. It's an astute observation on drinking culture and being young. It's short, sharp and a gets you in a fuzz guitar whirl before ending abruptly, and presumably passing out. State Of The Art is another play on modern life, romance and appearances. It's got a great hook and chorus, it's sassy and a great partner song to 'Vanity.'
The album is reminiscent of a spit and sawdust bar, the sort of place where the boys have attitude and the girls have more meets the soundtrack of coming of age indie film. It certainly has bags of appeal and these girls can certainly play. Idestroy clearly aim themselves at the younger post-punk, millennials who will dig their relevant lyrics and raw, unabashed punk thrashery.