Tongue Trap share their unique take on modern life with bold debut EP ‘Girl Crush’.
The Edinburgh three-piece of Kim (guitar/vocals), Emma (bass/vocals) and Sam (drums) began life at Girls Rock School Edinburgh. Following their live debut in December 2015 they’ve had support slots with the likes of Tacocat and The Van T’s. The release of debut EP ‘Girl Crush’ (out today via Morningside Young Team Records) was preceded by a lunch show at Sneaky Pete’s in their hometown last night.
The EP is a rollicking mix of ballsy attitude and a fierce, but fun, sound. Labeling them as a riot grrrl band is the obvious choice but feels too simplistic as they blend, and bend, genres to suit their will across the five tracks that make up ‘Girl Crush’.
First track ‘Taco Tuesday’ is foot-stomping catchy punk with the almost cute shouts of “It’s all you can eat!” adding sugar to the spicy mix. ‘Period Pants’ provides political commentary on “fools in suits” to another rocking riff. ‘Celery’ shifts into melodic grunge rock with spiky vocals that contrast with the disappointments that confront you in the lyrics – “modern life is boring and it bothers me”. Their unique commentary on life continues on ‘Buttplug’, which is a feminist anthem that is full of fun with the vocal duties bouncing between Kim and Emma.
‘Breath’ is more downbeat, with reverberating guitars, but retains the feistiness. It’s hard to listen to this song without imagining it being performed at fictional venue The Bronze in TV show ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ – it has that 90s grunge sound that always seemed to be the soundtrack to Sarah Michelle Gellar kicking a hapless demon across the dance floor.
Essentially this collection of songs describes what it is to be a woman in the 21st century through the eyes of a refreshing band – they aren’t afraid to lyrically tackle the serious subjects whilst retaining their sense of humour and punk style.
This is a vibrant debut and it seems like it will be easy to develop a girl crush on the spirited musings and rocking sound of Tongue Trap.
