I love Friday's, the sheer excitement of waking up to new music releases will never diminish. At the top of my list this morning were 2 releases with a very similar mindset, the fabulous Chemtrails here in Manchester have released 'The Joy of Sects', and equally splendid is the new EP from Danish artist A Mess entitled 'No Man'.
So A Mess is really based around the talents of musician Dorte Hartmann, joined by drummer Per Gerhard Jørgensen, and we've featured her a few times on our official playlist, notably when she released her excellent debut EP 'Woman' in 2021. She's gone on to perfom at festivals across Europe, and this year heads out on a full European tour - well 'full' apart from the UK of course, probably due to the costs post Brexit lunacy.
Now I don't like stealing other peoples phrases, but I really can't better the description of her as 'if The Breeders bred Avril Lavigne and left the upbringing to Pussy Riot', and in 'No Man' she demonstrates her ability to write outrageously catchy and guitar riff heavy songs that I promise you'll instantly love.
Opening with the previously released single 'Gender Traitor' we're immediately treated to a series of irresistible melodies within 30 seconds, accompanied by raw but punchy guitars and drums, and full-on lyrics: "keep your nose to your own waste, go find your turf when you defecate, don't take your shit.... out on me"
Meanwhile new track 'We Gonna Fight' opens in a restrained manner, but then launches into a call to action to women everywhere to fight against injustice, and a warning to not listen to those false claims that "equality is near, I hear a buzzer in my ear, but it's all a hoax, a diversion to rise up hopes".
'Happy' is sing-a-long power pop, with an Echobelly friendly chorus and a driving guitar riff, whilst she ends with the anthemic 'Ghost Hands', with straightforward and relatable lyrics: 'They're all just ghosts, ghosts in my head, Pillow talks, Drunken hearts..."
'No Man' is simply a fabulous 12 minutes of grungy Riot Grrrl punk pop, with such catchy tunes and likeable lyrics that the whole thing flies by in a blur. Highly recommended.