Joanna Gruesome / Perfect Pussy - The Split EP

Take two artists who are purveyors of the indie short sharp shock - that’s songs that career along at breakneck speed. Metaphorically speaking, they both do songs that are inexorable rollercoasters. Yep, that’s Joanna Gruesome and Perfect Pussy. This is a joint release, simply called The Split EP - two from JG, two from PP.

The Gruesome lot kick off proceedings. Continuing where they left off from last year’s barnstorming debut Weird Sister, their brand of indie-pop sits somewhere between the ethereal vocals of those ace 80s indie janglers, Motorcycle Boy, and the chaotic melodies of The Flatmates.

Track one, ‘And Keep on Reaching for Those Stars’, is 76 seconds long, a cover of a track recorded by I Hate Myself, back in the 90s. It's frenetic but coated in saccharine driving guitars. Track two, ‘Psykick Espionage’, is a similar affair but they stick all the big chord changes in the right places at the right times. Just when the song veers and threatens to drop out, the big bastard riff comes back. Lovely.  

Perfect Pussy are a different sound bag. Besides the controversial name, they also show a penchat for nauseating insensitivity in what they do and aren’t afraid to bite you on the arse with an aggression not heard since Sleater-Kinney’s last album. All muck, atonal noise, abrasive Bjork-like eccentricity and pulsing beats.   

Their first track ‘Adult World (The Secret) is an wanton, callous combination of cathartic energy, discordant guitars and distorted-to-fuck vocals. You’d think it wouldn’t work, but their heightened noise-fest resonates perfectly.

Track two, ‘Leash Called Love’ is a cover of the Sugarcubes track and is the best song on the EP. Half of this track is lo-fi dirge and shouty vocals, the other half feasts on the experimental and edgy, as PP deliver a sombre and minimalistic finish with some simple electronics and what sounds like an eccentric chipmunk in the run out grooves.

PP shade The Split EP but the chalk-and-cheese of the bands' respective sounds balance effortlessly.