Put Blondie and The Pixies in a blender. Frappe, 3 minutes. Add surf guitar and some drum and bass loops. Serve chilled.

14 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Modern Rock, POP: Quirky



Details:
PIXIES MEET BLONDIE IN CRAMPED B-52

LONDON -- "It's a wild ride, hang in there," read one of Brand Violet's first reviews, and how prophetic that statement proved to be.

Record Collector magazine adds, 'This already-cult four piece have an ear for super slick songs ... if Tarantino is struggling for his next soundtrack, he need look no further. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs would kill for these songs.' Drowned in Sound calls them 'London's finest female-fronted guitar combo ... powerful girl vocals, catchy guitars and a hint of doom.'

First signed to Stevo Pearce's Some Bizarre label (Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, Cabaret Voltaire) on the strength of their home-recorded first demo. Clichéd self-destructive phase. Ex-Arista/Rhythm King head Martin Heath proposes a new singer (ex-Zomba, Jive, Stock-Aitkin-Waterman) for the band to work with on his new label. Kept the singer. Not the label. Picked up by independent Riverside Records. First two singles produced by P.J. Harvey's engineer. A couple songs licensed to North American TV shows. Danelectro gives them free gear, then promptly stops making it. Songs chart in Top 5 online via Garageband, MP3.com, Vitaminic. "Alien Hive Theme" video is the final clip before the Stereophonics take the stage on their current tour. Guitarist Brian James (The Damned, Lords of the New Church) expresses interest in producing the next release.

References to Pulp Fiction, The Pixies, Blondie, The Cramps and the B-52s roll in. Strange bedfellows perhaps, but Brand Violet sound like nothing else in the UK, maybe the world.

John Peel's 'Unpeeled' magazine adds, "How often can you say, 'Oh, I popped out to this gig last night and you'll never guess what? I saw this wicked band whose singer has the sex appeal of a very young Debbie Harry, the stage presence of Patti Smith on heat and a voice of pure liquid gold. And did I mention the cat suit?'
Doesn't happen does it? It does now. Tunes you'd quite happily admit to liking.
It's pop, but it's not. It's rock without the cock."

Maybe that explains their 'cult' status in London, UK. Formed Halloween Night 1999.

Brand Violet are:

Sally-Anne Marsh - vocals
'Baby' Igor - guitar
Henderson K. Shatner - bass
'Bones' Jones - drums