SHOPLIFTING /// BODY STORIES /// KILL ROCK STARS ///

It's about time a new band released a debut that explores the intricate nature of the sexual and the political. Not that The Gossip do a bad job (drummer Hannah Blalie also beats skins for The Gossip), but singer Beth Ditto is known for telling people off and empowering them. Shoplifting successfully brings out the darker, more introspective side of sex and gender politics in their appropriately titled debut release, Body Stories. On "Flying Factory" and the rest of the album, the band tries to deconstruct sound in the same nature that they break apart gender preconceptions through the use of tinny bells and keyboards and gruff, jangly guitar riffs. While that's not a blindingly original, Shoplifting do refine where bands like Bikini Kill and Bride of No No left off by exploring the male gender. Even if it's true that men traditionally and currently oppress women, it doesn't mean that all men are comfortable wearing the oppressor hat. The standout tracks manage to define the album as a whole without letting the other songs fade in the background. The cleverly named "Male Gynecology" lives up to the name by sardonically exploring a both the societal and male self's ambivalence towards his own body with a confused call-and-response pop sensibility. The last track "Claude Glass" explores the female's conflict with wanting to be malleable while remaining resistant to repressive male influences. Shoplifting should be proud of their debut release, and stick to the elements of their music that explore social conflict and improve on unifying their strong songs into an album that could really punch the crotch instead of the gut next time around.

Text: Katy Martineau