News & Events

A new compilation Grlz: Women Ahead of Their Time features the first known CD appearance of the B-side to the Industrial Records single from Dorothy, "Softness." The comp features "angular '70s/early '80s radical female-fronted post-punk aggro-pop" and is now available on Crippled Dick Hot Wax.

From the press release: "After a long stint of male dominance during the '70s, with only a few scattered exceptions to prove the rule, the birth of punk manifested the dawn of a new self-confidence: awkward girl bands like The Slits, Au Pairs or German variant Mania D. Causing a stir in their dick-dominated surroundings, the clich of the dishwashing female reduced to rearing offspring and shooting the odd admiring glance at her strong breadwinner was about to undergo a radical U-turn -- many of the era's pivotal bands featured women right at the frontline. Kickstarted by provocative pop actionists like Valie Export in the early '70s, this new feminist attitude was picked up and perpetuated with her musical sisters in mind.

Nevertheless, this compilation does not dwell on the political statements behind the scene's artistic emancipation, but rather highlights its singers' newfound musical self-confidence. All tracks featured here simply bristle with untainted, exuberant freshness.

Features artists such as post-punk Bristol-sounders Maximum Joy, angular jazzers Ludus, 19-year old upstart Dorothy, femme-rappers JaJaJa, Malcolm McLaren brainchildren Bow Wow Wow, feminist new wavers Delta 5, the ever-crazed Slits, the jazz-influenced Pop Group offshoot, Rip, Rig & Panic, the po-mo vocals of Anna Domino, reggae-styled New Age Steppers, and French-American popist Nicolle Meyer."