Viper Music

Venue and Live Music Scene Review Miss Skarlet

- News article posted on Wednesday 22 Sep 2010 at 11:18 by Neil Wilkins

Miss Skarlet - This Beautiful Lie - By Adam Burrows

“Miss Skarlet don’t sound like they come from Nailsea. They peddle the slick blend of 90s rock and tender balladry that dominates the us teen market. They’ve got the genre’s production values licked, all “punk” signifying power chords cushioned by pianos, keening lead parts and dreamy backing vocals. The selft penned tunes are pretty well wrought too. “For You” sounds like The Spin Doctors fronted by Avril Lavigne. While the title track hints at the well-heeled angst of Evanessence. The album even contains a token life-affirming rejection of societies expectations. “Pretty Enough” has a cello on it, like Nervana’s “Numb” or Elgar. It’s not as good as Christina’s similarly “Beautiful” but what is? While Miss Skarlets pop smarts and sincerity have already won them a sizeable and growing fan base, they may prove of limited interest to readers old enough to buy their own drinks. 3 Stars ***"

View the Full Article in Venue Magazine

Miss Skarlet - This Beautiful Lie - By Alice Forrest 

"Thanks to CDs my music taste through the years is well documented. Looking back on some teenage choices I can say with certainty if I had heard 'This Beautiful Lie' by Miss Skarlet when I was 15, I would have created my own cult for them, merely to appreciate them properly. This girl rock occupies a special place in my heart where Jonathon Taylor-Thomas (the younger son in Home Improvement) and most American junk food also reside.

There's a lovely freshness in the vocals and an honest, if naïve lyric which makes this so very true to its Californian roots. There's also a reason it gets used in romcoms: it appeals to girls who feel they're a bit smarter than Britney or Christina (or to update this ten years Cheryl or Rhianna). The opening track 'For You' comes straight out of the teen movies I remember: punchy guitars without overpowering the slightly vulnerable girl vocal, tight snare drum; I can already see Julia Stiles getting out of a vintage car and strutting into some high school or other, tossing her unruly hair...

The more vulnerable, the better with these tracks. 'Pretty Enough' has a lyric that touches the heart of any ex-teenager, especially one who wasn't all that into conformity. With it comes a direct criticism of the pressures on female performers, and I would like to hear more of this honesty from other, bigger female stars (Pink is a little too batty to count these days, I'm afraid). The acoustic setting also pulls back from all that noise and volume, and really lets you hear the skill of the song writing, showing a confidence which in this case works well. It also breaks up the album, stopping it from feeling too samey.

Of course in the middle of this kind of album, one always gets to the bit where the girl berates the guy for his youthful inability to commit. Obviously serious nostalgia bait for me, though the more I listen to 'Heavy Heart' and 'Catch Me' the sorrier I feel for any guy brave enough to try dating me eight or nine years ago. I think it's only fair that if girls have the 'they're only after one thing' line drilled into us then boys should be subject to the same lesson. The difference is that when boys are after what they can get, girls (in a metaphorical sense) want your heart in Tupperware. Don't worry; they'll keep it in the fridge. Sorry, back to reviewing! But I have to say the very fact they can take me back like this is impressive.

The one drawback to this sound is how very American it is. The fashion is to style something with the supposed quirky cool we all apparently possess innately, simply for being English (will someone please tell the Americans how patronising that is? We can be just as polished and vacuous- look at that Leona Lewis for heaven's sake). Miss Skarlet has totally ignored this and I hope their audience will forgive that because they really are worth a good listen.

The flagship track 'This Beautiful Lie' is the most dynamic on the album. You get the feeling the band is pulling out all the stops while Sally-Anne Langton keeps perfect control of the vocal. I am impressed with how easy she makes these songs sound. I don't get much from the rest of the band, however; a little more from them and it will feel more like a band and less like great session musicians.

There are lots of bands like this out there and normally they're a bit niche for any but the committed rocker's taste. I can see this going down very well with teenage girls and those girls who choose to ignore the inner teenage girl they think they outgrew.

I'm going to see these guys live at the Louisiana on 4th September and I strongly suggest you come down too. Having got a taste of some really refreshingly open girl rock I'm excited to see what they can do on a stage."

- Posted on Wednesday 22 Sep 2010 at 11:18 by Neil Wilkins