LISTEN: The Dirty Nil - "Fuckin' Up Young"

The Dirty Nil - "Fuckin' Up Young"


You know those moments where you're overwhelmed by something? Maybe it's falling in love or winning lots of money -- or something in between there. It's the type of moment in which you feel a rush of adrenaline swirling around inside of you, at a loss for what could be done to calm yourself down. Maybe you jump around and flail your arms in every direction possible, or maybe you jump off of something like a wall or set of stairs, without concern for where or how you'll be landing. It's the feeling of pleasantly drowning in a sea of elation. Listening to "Fuckin' Up Young" is much like this kick of adrenaline, and produces a similar high.

LISTEN: The Barettas - Touche 7"

The Barettas are an all-girl trio from Hamilton, Ontario that clean houses by day and bartend by night, killing their frustration and worries by filling any and all spare time with music. Off the bat, The Barettas sound something like Gwen Stefani fronting a pop-leaning garage rock band, but The Barettas are a lot more straightforward and gritty than No Doubt. More than that, The Barettas possess a certain spirit of mid-'40s to early '50s class, and pair style with attitude; they're a band that embodies the determined, proud character of Rosie the Riveter.

Lead singer and guitarist Katie Bulley sings emphatically and with great control -- her voice alone could be a hook. But what's really caused me to flip this 7" over and over (ok, I'm just listening to it digitally, but you get the idea) is that The Barettas don't play it safe with their arrangements. They could easily power through songs with a quickly-strummed power chord progression, but instead, drummer Carly Killotta switches up the tempo, providing these songs with a smart sense of timing. Pop meets garage meets rockabilly meets punk.

Stream/download/buy the 7" and watch the music video for "Touche" after the hop.