Flowerpot E.P. – Flowerpot (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Remember the irony of the phrase Girl Power, when a manufactured girl band were made to dance by their male manager as 12 year olds threw their pocket money into his deep pockets. Well, without wishing to talk down to those who know their history, real musically driven girl power was already being played out for real along the Pacific North-West with the grunge scene splinter movement, Riot Grrrl. The legacy of that movement paved the way for the later phenomenon that is Warpaint and in turn UK bands such as Cat Bear Tree and now Flowerpot.

These four tracks ricochet between minimal six string atmospherics and full on fuzz guitar wig outs, whilst bouncing off of skittering drum beats, the sonic hole where the bass would normally sit just acts like an echo chamber for what’s going on around it and helps lend an air of angular punkish insurrection and non-conformity to the overall sound. Add to that the strong vocal of Serena Mirelle and you have the perfect mix of attitude and accomplishment, brains and bravado. It’s a blueprint that has informed the best female alt-rock acts from Patti Smith to the newly re-animated Steater-Kinney.

To survive in music these days you have to either be suicidal or superficial. Thankfully Flowerpot strives for a third option of just sounding supersonic. Girl Power indeed.