Girls At Our Best - Pleasure

Whatever happened to…?

There are so many “great”, “lost” bands from the Golden Age Of Peel (1978- 81), but here is one of the best loved and most fondly remembered. Their only album, originally released on the Happy Birthday label in 1981 and now with added Peel Session, it was reissued on CD by the now defunct Vinyl Japan in 1994, but has been unavailable for some time.

Unlike many albums from the early 80s, it doesn’t actually sound of its time (despite one Thomas Dolby making a fleeting appearance on keyboards), possibly due to the lack of budget. It’s a complex, varied album and has the most positive, up-sounding vibe from a time remembered for its dour miserablism. GAOB just didn’t fit in: Buzzcocks pop sensibility, disco bass lines, Banshees-lite guitar licks, the occasional bit of twangy guitar, a dash of feminist ideology, folky vocal inflections and Judy Evans singing like a choirgirl punkette Julie Andrews on speed. An inspiration to a swathe of C86 twee indie bands, it’s a joyous winner all the way.

Cherry Red/Anagram | tbc

Reviewed by Ged Babey
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