Calgary-based Miesha & The Spanks have premiered the first track“Atmosphere” from upcoming LP Girl Girls Girls. The guitar-and-drum duo of front woman-guitarist Miesha Louie and drummer Sean Hamilton own it ferociously, emphatically and completely on their new 10-track LP produced by Paul Rawson and Danny Farrant (of The Buzzcocks). Girls Girls Girls is set to be released via Saved By Vinyl on March 9 — a fast, nasty, sexy slab of riff-fuelled Runaways rock clad in spit-polished black leather and bursting with sass and singalong swagger. Says New Noise of the new single, “Guitars blare out the speakers, with the drums pummeling the listener forward, all the while the infectious hooks rain over you. The track’s filled with glorious harmonic distortion, rising to a true clap along chorus. If this doesn’t wet your appetite for their upcoming LP, well you’ve probably lost your mind, marbles, and possibly all your cognitive abilities. ‘Atmosphere’ is everything you’re looking for in a loud rawk track.”
Listen to “Atmosphere” HERE
Girls Girls Girls marks a new phase and a great leap forward in the career of Miesha, who has over the past decade released three full-lengths, a number of EPs, and toured relentlessly sharing the stage and holding her own with such notables as Queens of the Stone Age, Bison BC, Death From Above, The Pack A.D. and Hot Hot Heat. It’s the first album recorded together with Hamiltonand the follow-up to her 2013 release Girls, Like Wolves, which was recorded with Canadian indie rock legend Ian Blurton and took her to a whole new level.
The production of Girls Girls Girls does likewise and has its own legend attached: Danny Farrant from U.K. punk pioneers the Buzzcocks, whom she forged a relationship with when his band performed in Calgary for the 2011 Sled Island festival. Recorded in the middle of a lengthy 2017 Canadian tour, over a 10-day period in the English seaside resort of Brighton, the duo spent 10-12 hours each day in the studio with Farrant, pulling apart and reworking the tunes they’d brought with them from across the pond.
“Working with Danny was great because he has this whole other level of experience in music — from being a member of the Buzzcocks, but also as a writer-producer with his partner Paul Rawson, who also produced the album,” says Miesha. “Bringing my songs to them for feedback, not only to polish the songs but to develop them, was one of the most exciting things about it. They were in our songs with us.”
As for those songs, they run the gamut of thudding, chugging opening cut “First Love First Blood” to the sizzling, jukebox c’mon of “Motorin’”, the cool, late night vibe of “Lost Boy”, the sweet, breezy, dreamy, closer “Summer Love” and the bounce, bop and doo-wop of soaring first single “Atmosphere”. It makes wonderful use of the “chemistry and connection” Louie and Hamilton have forged over the past two years, turning that into a singular, inarguable energy that confidently knows when to go hard and when to show that necessary restraint.
When asked whether or not the title of the new records is an attempt to reclaim it from the hairband brigade of days of yore, Miesha admits her intentions were slightly less grandiose than that. “The more my life became filled with women, cool women in bands, I felt pushed towards it. Where I used to be one of the only girls in the music scene, now all of a sudden my life is filled with girls who have the same interests as me. I liked that it was happening and I wanted to encourage it.” She smiles, “More girls.”
Case in point, Miesha uses her experience in the music industry to help aspiring young musicians and young women interested in the music industry at Girls Rock Camp Calgary where she sits on the board and has been involved since its inception in 2013. Besides organizing workshops, volunteers and daily operations, Miesha coaches the participants throughout the camp, maintaining relationships with the girls beyond GRCC by assisting them to apply for grants, book performances, and with the record process.
Two of Canada’s busiest road junkies Miesha & The Spanks have toured coast to coast many times, with additional performances at NXNE, Halifax Pop Explosion, Sled Island, Canadian Music Week, and BreakOut West. 2018 is no different with a 25+ date tour slotted across Canada.
Girls Girls Girls Tracklisting
01 First Blood
02 Motorin
03 Come Undone
04 Lost Boy
05 Girls
06 Atmosphere
07 Be Alright
08 Stranger
09 Witch Hunt
10 Summer Love
UPCOMING CANADIAN TOUR DATES:
Feb 28 @ Ship & Anchor Pub, CALGARY AB
Mar 01 @ Vangelis Tavern, SASKATOON, SK
Mar 02 @ The Mercury, REGINA SK
Mar 03 @ The Cavern, WINNIPEG MB
Mar 04 @ The Apollo, THUNDER BAY ON
Mar 08 @ This Ain’t Hollywood, HAMILTON ON
Mar 09 @ EVAC (East Village Arts Collective), LONDON ON
Mar 10 @ Baby G, TORONTO ON
Mar 14 @ Read’s, FREDERICTON NB
Mar 15 @ Gus’ Pub, HALIFAX NS
Mar 16 @ Thunder & Lightning, SACKVILLE NB
Mar 17 @ Gus’ Pub, HALIFAX NS (Afternoon)
Mar 17 @ The Caveau, MONCTON NB
Mar 19 @ Seahorse (Rockin 4 Dollars), HALIFAX NS
Mar 22 @ The Barfly, MONTREAL QC
Mar 23 @ Bar Robo, OTTAWA ON
Mar 30 @ O’Hanlons, REGINA SK
Apr 06 @ Nite Owl, CALGARY AB (Record Release Party)
Apr 07 @ The Slice, LETHBRIDGE AB (Record Release Party)
Apr 14 @ Sewing Machine Factory, EDMONTON AB (Record Release Party)
Apr 19 @ The Cobalt, VANCOUVER BC
Apr 20 @ Logan’s Pub, VICTORIA BC
Apr 21 @ Official Sports Lounge, UCLUELET BC
