Marihuzka Cornelius (aka MC) may have grown up in western Sydney but she was obsessed with Seattle’s contemporary grunge/pop culture from an early age. She ended up recording Bloods new EP with her band mates in ‘Bleach’ producer Jack Endino’s Sound House with Steve Fisk (Soundgarden and Mudhoney) on production and mixing duties. After being played on KEXP and signing to Sub Pop publishing, there was only really one title for this new EP: ‘It’s funny cos everyone involved in making this EP and supporting it and bringing it to life, with the exception of the band and our manager, are from Seattle so it’s kind of this love letter back to the city that embraced us.’
The 15-minute EP opens in frantic fashion with the powerful drums and squealing guitars of ‘U & M E’ – a song that is ripe for a shout-along once we are all allowed back to gigs. The brilliantly titled ‘Girls Are Just Fucking Cool Like That’ follows with MC passionately delivering the words ‘Well, I had a baby and I’m not dead, no matter what you say. Yeah, she is amazing but it’s OK, I’ve still go dreams inside my head’. It’s an anthemic slab of punk rock that explains how women who have had children have every right to chase their dreams. It features a Guided by Voices-style shredding guitar solo within its two minutes alongside the powerful wordplay: ‘You don’t have to justify your life’. ‘I Hate It’ has more of a grungey tone, albeit intertwined with bouncy pop hooks and self-depreciating lyrics: ‘I hate the way that you’re on my mind but I hate that I’m not on yours’.
‘The New Guy’ is packed with potent riffs as MC talks about leaving someone behind (‘In my rear-view mirror, you’re so small’) while ‘Waste of Time’ opens with a killer bass line that morphs into the kind of spiky guitar-driven sound and assertive attitude that Sl0tface specialise in: ‘If it feels all right, I guess it can’t be wrong’; ‘You’re such a waste of time’. Despite also being around the two-minute mark, the closing ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ builds up the anticipation before bursting into a plethora of Pup-style punk hooks and dual vocals singing the title in unison.
‘Seattle’ is an EP that will take you right into the heart of the Emerald City and its punk-rock attitude while also delivering raw, important messages about the state of society today.
