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Dingwalls, April 14th 1999 Always the bridesmaids, never the brides. Well, until now. "We're back," smiles Marie du Santiago. "You knew it wouldn't be long." True enough, because with the untimely demise of glitter-pop heroines Kenickie, you could never really convince yourself that the party was really over. However, while Lauren Laverne and her brother Johnny X continue to ponder the ramifications of life after being corporate indie's answer to the All Saints, the spirit of their former band shows little signs of melting away. For here we have Rosita, dressed in white and still hoping that the bouquet of pop success might eventually be tossed their way. Rosita, if you hadn't guessed, are the aforementioned Ms du Santiago, ex-Kenickie bassist Emmy-Kate Montrose and an anonymous assortment of slap-headed session musos, and if the sheer impassioned joy of their gig tonight is anything to go by, then they're moving out from Lauren's shadow in no uncertain terms. If that isn't entirely apparent from the bombastic, glam-rock inflected opener 'Hey, Hey Baby', then the eloquent melodies of du Santiago's 'Lying's Easy' and the lachrymose bombast of 'If You've Heard' show that there was more than one unimpeachably brilliant songwriter concealed behind the fake fur and lipstick bluster of Kenickie. Whether they can find a record label prepared to accommodate this vigorous pop splendour remains Rosita's main problem. They're certainly not suffering from an absence of confidence as the feisty twosome wisecrack and coo to the audience, and with tunes of the heart-rending stature of 'Waiting 4 U' and 'Sugar Baby', Rosita demonstrate that they could be everything Kenickie's former adoring following could have hoped for. "London, take my advice," states du Santiago as she introduces their finale, 'This Is Tonight'. "If you love someone, don't think twice." No second thoughts here. [source: NME 24.04.99] |
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[pix][sounds] [links] Quotes: 02/1999 NME: 03/1999 Dingwalls Review #1 04/1999 Dingwalls Review #2 04/1999 |