The Pipettes

The classic-girl group sound is on full display at SXSW this year. There's Amy Winehouse, who counts the Shangri-Las among her influences; there's Mary Weiss, formerly of the Shangri-Las, who released her first record in a billion years earlier this month; and there's the Pipettes (shown here at the Pitchfork party Friday afternoon).

Think of the trio from Brighton, England, as a group of indie-rock girls who started choreographing dance routines to their parents' oldies records when they were 8, and just never stopped. Now they're writing their own songs, in which they're not mooning over the boys so much as ordering them around. The ladies (backed by a super-competent quartet) wear vivid, polka-dot print dresses, sing sugary harmonies over garage-rock arrangements and shimmy and shake their way around the stage.

They tout their own good looks, celebrate one night stands ("If you're doing the right thing and feeling about a bit, this one's for you!" one of them said as she marveled over the array of attractive people in Austin by way of introduction for "One Night Stand") and sing kiss offs to worthless guys. They're all over SXSW, with (I think) a total of six shows.

I wasn't able to get close enough to talk up Shag Frenzy, but if they come to Hartford, I'll be there.

Comments

[Chris]

I was at this one, too. They had great charisma but the vocal mix was pretty bad at the start, messing up one of my favorites of theirs. But they had it all together by the end. Fun stuff.

Eric replies: I got there a little late -- must have been right after they tweaked the vocal mix.