The scream has a lot of meanings in music: metal rage, Beatlemania, terror, anguish. When generally deadpan singer Rhian Teasdale tries one in the middle of a song flippantly titled Ur Mum, she needs a run-up: “Okay, I’ve been practicing my longest and loudest scream/Okay, here we go/One, two, three…” at which point she sounds like a girl at the top of a rollercoaster but also like someone who just won’t stand for any more nonsense. The song is two fingers to a useless ex: “When you’re getting blazed, spooning mayonnaise, yeah I know it’s time to go.” Elsewhere on the debut album she has made with her fellow guitarist and musical partner Hester Chambers there’s small town boredom, awkward parties, sex dreams and a hilarious surrealism that feels like in-jokes you’ve been permitted to be part of.
No one was looking to the Isle of Wight for the next big thing in indie rock, but here they are, signed to the same record label as Arctic Monkeys and generating similar buzz from the get-go. Chaise Longue, their first single, was released last June, pairing Mean Girls quotes with a scorching guitar line. They’ve already sold out spring and autumn tours, including two nights at the 2,300-capacity Forum in Kentish Town, on the strength of a handful of singles. Good luck squeezing in to any tent they’re assigned at the summer festivals.
