Review | Throwing Up | the girls are

Throwing Up, ‘Snake’, Self Release

Having a crush on a person who turns out to be a certified douchebag is like a teenage girl rite of passage. Actually, scratch that, because The Girls Are know all about yearning for toxic types well after our teens and, admittedly, sometimes we were the douchebags too so in the cosmic order of love, balance was restored. Anyway by the sounds of it, Throwing Up are also personally familiar with the topic of misplaced affection as their new single, ‘Snake’, is, according to singer, Camille, “about a boy that I thought was a bit of a shit and the nature of crushing”.

For a band who ordinarily deliver things with a bit of a kick and a snarl, it’s surprising to find that on a song where they might pull no punches it actually sounds, well, totally lovely. Carried by a gentle guitar and summery beat, Camille provides sweet unpolished vocals delivered without a yelp or even a hint of bile.  “I’m calling you a snake /As I follow you down the drain”, she sadly intones over a song that makes up in pop gorgeousness for what it lacks in their usual grungy vitriol. Of course, if you read between the lines it’s full of the usual piss and vinegar in substance but, stylistically, on the surface of things it’s a much poppier prospect.

Teenage by design and execution, ‘Snake’ sounds a little like pop punk viaClueless and is kept short and sweet in typical style of the band. With Camille’s heart on her sleeve, perhaps it was inevitable that a sadder song would be a little tenderer; it undeniably possesses far more melody than previous efforts and sounds even better for it. ‘Snake’ might be a tamer beast but it’s a side of Throwing Up that The Girls Are can’t help but love. In fact, we’re crushing all over it. TGA <3 TU 4EVA