Wild Flag [CD]

Since the news first appeared that this indie "supergroup" had formed, this record has been very eagerly awaited. When Sleater-Kinney went into their indefinite hiatus in 2006 they were (arguably) at their creative peak, their final record `The Woods' was wild, explosive, visceral and dark, and a landmark record of this century. If you love `The Woods' as I do, you may have been hoping that the return of two thirds of Sleater-Kinney, Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss, would bring us `The Woods 2', but Wild Flag is a different beast altogether. Mary Timony has added a second lead guitar, an alternative voice, and a quirky, almost psychedelic, song writing style. Rebecca Cole's keyboards wonderfully colour that occasional late 60s-early 70s Nuggets/garage feel, and, in particular, provide a foil for Carrie's combustible guitar, and then, underpinning everything in solid solid rock is Janet's powerdrive drumming. Wild Flag are a certainly a band rather than a collection of individuals.

Having said this is a new band, there are still some references to past lives, "Future Crimes" for example, has a distant relative in "Entertain" from `The Woods', the stunning "Racehorse" has an extended jam (particularly in live shows) that brings `The Woods' showpiece "Let's Call It Love" to mind, and "Short Version" possibly wouldn't have sounded too out of place on `One Beat'. Mary's more raucous solo work, such as on `Ex Hex', is also a precursor. There are some unexpectedly poppy moments on `Wild Flag', some sweet harmonies and choruses, such as those on the opener "Romance", and "Endless Talk", surprisingly, sounds like The Cars, but then to counter that there are wailing guitars, screaming feedback solos and thumping driving riffs, Wild Flag is made to be played live and loud.

"Glass Tambourine", sung by Mary Timony, combines the pop and psychedelic aspects, plus vocal harmonies, with a spectacular guitar workout, it forms the centrepiece of the album and shows how wonderfully this band mesh, bounce off each other and thrive on the spontaneity, the fact that they are greatly enjoying what they do is very apparent. The music was reportedly recorded in the manner of a live show rather than painstakingly assembled piece by piece, and it's superbly captured their spark, it sounds fantastic, positively bristling with energy. These are very experienced musicians so maybe that shouldn't be a surprise, but the obvious chemistry in the band from the word go begs the question as to why they didn't do this sooner!

As a stylistic indicator, if you've heard nothing, and don't know the earlier work of the members of Wild Flag, in their unmissable live shows (UK dates in January 2012) they have covered songs by the Ramones ("Judy Is A Punk"), Television ("See No Evil"), Patti Smith ("Ask the Angels") and The Rolling Stones ("Beast of Burden"), put that lot in an orgy and Wild Flag is the love child. Wild Flag's debut is an exciting and unpredictable mix of styles and influences played with undeniable exuberance, and with so much current indie music wandering delicately through the land of the twee this is exactly what's needed, a band that can rock with power, intelligence and originality. How could something this great not be the best record of 2011?

I was a Sleater-Kinney fan and wondered if this would be as good, I'm pleased to report it's a great solid debut, great guitars, great melodies, liking it a lot.

Made by, I'm led to believe, the female members of various American indie slash leftfield bands. But don't let that put you off. Opener 'Romance' brought back sweet memories of 'Plastic Letters' era Blondie and Elastica's eponymous debut LP, and the rest of the record didn't disappoint. We're talking guitars, harmonies, and melody, with the occasional curve ball that someone like Radiohead would throw you.