It’s A Strange Melting Feeling
Heroine have finally released an EP, and God has it been worth the wait. Having been a fan since finding “Mystery Misses Me” on their soundcloud page back in 2013, I’ve waited, wished and scoured the net, hoping, above all means, to find more Heroine. Back in those days they only had three songs on soundcloud page as well as a Sugar Vinyl Session’s video, titled “April.”
The band was founded in 2012 and currently comprises of Roxy Caroline on vocals and guitar, Simone Basson on lead guitar, Ruby Angelica on bass and backing vocals, and Helen Wells on drums and backing vocals. Yes, Heroine is an independent all-female Capetonian band who describes their sound on Facebook as “frosty tits on a Sunday afternoon.” – What’s not to admire?
MILK is their six-track EP and was made available for streaming on Soundcloud three months ago; spanning a period of nearly two years since they’d released any new material. Upon first play, it’s clear that the band used the time to shape a sound that is distinctively their own, with emphasis on texture and mood as a tool to immerse the listener into the musical experience that is Heroine.
“Antsy“ starts out with a solid kick swiftly followed by a catchy grungy shoegaze chord progression. The guitar and drums tie together neatly and melt into the vocals as Roxy, carried by the backing vocals of Ruby and Helen, voices a chorus of absence. You’re not there/ You’re nowhere/ You’re somewhere / But not here. Once again the drums take lead, building on a solid kick accompanied by a sexy bass groove. Simone escorts the bass with guitar licks and rhythms, paving the way for Roxy’s harmonising chant – Sunshine Ascension/ Sunshine Ascenshu-hu-huuun.
As we ascend, the band becomes a holistic entity, musically in sync with the rise as they guide us back to the familiar shores of the grungy chorus. The song concludes with another mantra, seemingly affirming and hopeful (if not wishful): we will always stay together.
“Driving Daisy”, as well as “Kind Of Woman”, were released prior to the EP as songs that established the band. However, the new texture proves that the mastering has shaped the sound into something uniquely Heroine. For the most part, the mood remains melodically sombre with lyrics emphasising the fruitlessness of self-pity and the struggle of standing your own ground. Feeling drunk and high / trying to take, take a stand / we’re all connected somehow. Feeling sorry for themselves / we’ll they’ll never grab the gold. The song escalates into a howling quarrel between what seems to be two parties, the conclusion being: self-sacrificial masturbator, got it? no. no. no.
What follows is sheer intuitive genius. Roxy starts moaning, building up to an array of sexual climaxes, and the band carries her, stimulates her until she’s hopelessly spent. Her moaning ensues as a lament and she continues to wail, begging for some sort of release. The conclusion? You better listen to the church again / I’ll pull the trigger in your dirty plan.
“Nausicaä“ is my favourite song on the album, primarily because it’s so reminiscent of Warpaint yet still retains the essence of Heroine. Once again Helen’s kick, now seemingly compressed, introduces the song. A melody is played, and as soon as we get a feel for the way it moves, another guitar joins the sequence and seeps into the first. The melody surges on the waves of the bass and keeps its momentum as an equally harmonising chant drives into the beat.
Everything fits together, immersing the individual roles of a selective group into one. And I can’t keep from drifting into the sphere of their expansive moods, their guiding melodies, their eerie vocal flow, and their lush spectral rapport. Is this Dream Pop? Art Rock? Or simply just Indie? Forget labels, maybe it’s just a strange melting feeling.
Listen to the MILK EP on Soundcloud and be sure to follow the band on Twitter and Facebook.
Written by Eben Roelofse
