Bang Lime
Best Friends in Love
Last Gang Records

It must be hard playing music in the shadow of a stunning blonde vixen. Whether it’s Gwen Stefani and her boys in No Doubt or the ultimate fair-haired frontwoman Debbie Harry, who has most of the world convinced that she is Blondie, and her all-male band are like boy accessories with guitars. Emily Haines, lead singer of the Toronto-based synth-rock outfit Metric commands attention much like her hot rock female counterparts. Haines is blonde, lithe and talented—perhaps to the dismay of her XY-chromosomed band mates. Like Stefani, she has pursued her solo dreams—to favorable reviews—leaving her band of merry men in the dust. Ok, it’s not that dramatic, but while Metric's fierce kitten with a whip is away, her rhythm section have come out to play—and by play we’re talking sexy, dissonant, high-powered guy-oriented rock (with cross-over girl appeal).

Whether or not it’s a reaction to this ferocious female lead singer complex, Metric’s bassplayer Joshua Winstead (who’s now on guitar) and drummer Joules Scott- Key have forged a new sonic identity with their group Bang Lime, where they share the limelight—no pun intended—without competition from said foxy blonde singer. Their debut album Best Friends in Love is a frantic mix of messy rock thanks to Winstead and Scott-Key’s guitar-and-drums duel that is a far cry from Metric’s more polished musical aesthetic. Bang Lime’s raw racket features pounding drums and grating guitars that produce a testosterone-fueled chaotic but danceable sound that is destined to be on repeat in hipster bars everywhere. The 10 frenetic tracks on Best Friends in Love cover a wide range of topics that span from life and death in the city on the DIY post-punk of  “The Death of Death,” the young prostitute (Jodie Foster) from classic De Niro flick Taxi Driver on “Iris,” to a critique of the slave trade on “Sailing.” The sneakily sensual song “Equator” describes sex as discovering uncharted territory: “unbuckle this belt line/ to foreign pleasure.” Come witness some musical male-bonding when Bang Lime make their Bay Area debut at the Rock-It Room Saturday, August 11. Don’t worry; girls are allowed.