Birmingham

Poppy and the Jezebels are from Birmingham , but don’t let that put you off, it’s not all Benny, Miss Diane and the Crossroads Motel in Brum these days. These lasses are indeed spring chickens and I wondered how their parents feel about them stepping into the insidious world of rock n roll, a place where wild men like Phillip Schofield lurk in the shadows waiting to corrupt people with their wholesome ideals. One of their dads did say that drugs can be a big problem, as you never know if the girls will share them or not.…(He was of course joking). Indeed the old maxim if your good enough your old enough must be applied, and the band undoubtedly have great talent. They exude a sort of sullen teenage cool, as if they’ve just bunked off detention and sod the consequences and whilst their lyrics sometimes relate to “traumas from teensville” their world view is actually expressed with great eloquence and maturity. Musically they create a sound that deftly walks the line between edgy pop and danceable Indie, an intoxicating concoction that includes the pop rationale of say, The Shop Assistants, mixed with the belligerent experimentation of The Raincoats . There’s also a suggestion of what might have been if the Sugababes had signed to Rough Trade in the early “Overload” days when it looked like they might actually be good.