The mighty Girlschool return with a new album some ten years after their last one.
And a welcome return it is as WTFortyfive is classic Girlschool retaining all the power, attitude and swagger they have retained since formation in the 1970s and being at the head of the original New Wave of British Heavy Metal days.
Kim McAuliffe, Denise Dufort, Tracey Lamb and Jackie Chambers make a formidable quartet indeed. McAuliffe is a tremendous front snarling out the vocals and the big rhythm guitar.
Long-time drummer Dufort sure thumps the tubs hard. Chambers does not muck about on guitar and Lamb a solid bassist.
The girls’ are on top form here on WTFortyfive. Hard, heavy, spiky, powerful, direct with the NWOBHM roots very much in evident pushing things along with obvious enthusiasm making an enjoyable listen with crunching riffs, fine solo work and fist-thumping choruses aplenty.
Everything rocks on with that typical Girlschool speed, make no mistake. I’ve been a fan since the start and still have the girls’ early singles from back then such as Emergency and Nothing to Lose. Everything which made them so then remains on WTFortyfive.
A dozen cuts of crunching riffs, massive drumming, throbbing bass, punchy solos and big vocal hooks all delivered with that typical Girlschool sense of fun.
Have a listen to Are You Ready for a shot of no nonsense heaviness:
A dozen cuts of crunching riffs, massive drumming, throbbing bass, punchy solos and big vocal hooks all delivered with that typical Girlschool sense of fun.
It is What it Is thunders out of the gate. Bump in the Night and Up to no Good a fun couple of songs which do not take themselves too seriously though do punch hard.
Party is just that with the massive chorus. Barmy Army pays tribute to the band’s fans. The cover Born to Raise Hell an excellent homage to the late Lemmy – of course Girlschool and Motorhead were close in the old days and you may recall the riotous Head Girl single they did back then?
Overall WTFortyfive is an upbeat, fun and infections album of heaviness with the band keeping up a huge head of steam after over four decades. Top stuff indeed girls….!