Artist Review: Chastity Belt

 

First, the requisite introduction: Chastity Belt is an awesome Seattle band that formed in 2009 at Whitman College in Walla Walla. The foursome is comprised of Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Annie Truscott (bass), Lydia Lund (guitar), and Gretchen Grimm (drums), and for the past few months now it seems like they've been on a mission to bring their riotous brand of punk vigor to every independent venue in Seattle.

But in a city filled with vegan bakeries and half-shaved heads, guitar-centric punk isn't exactly a rarity, so why am I excited about this particular band? Well, I'll tell you. From their first ep I was struck by the depth of their seeming simple sound, the energy they exude, and the pure fucking moxie with which they do it--belting lines like "This is sex, this is war, this is me fucking you on the dance floor" without even an ounce of insincerity.

As if this weren't enough, they've only gotten better with time, especially following their collaborations with Peter Richards and Andrew Hall of Dude York (also from Whitman) on last year's Dude EP, and their work with sound engineer José Díaz Rohena of World Record. To be sure, their songs have not lost their melodic or humorous lyrical flair, like on "Ponytail", where vocalist Shapiro tells a fictional guy she won't date him because his ponytail makes him look like Thomas Jefferson, but they have definitely matured. Their single "Seattle Party", which was written to capture the "immediate post-graduate feeling" is a great example. It prominently features all of their trademark contrasts: dreamy clean leads over lightly-distorted rhythm guitar, and Shapiro's impassioned howl against steadfast bass and drum lines when she asks "are we having fun?" To me this song has the same feel of some of the later Buzzcock's gems.



On a lighter note, I recently emailed Julia to ask her about her strong feelings about male ponytails.

Q: What exactly is your problem with the male ponytail and under what conditions should he cut it off? In other words, are all ponytail styles equally unacceptable to Chastity Belt?

A: I'm not sure if the other ladies have anything to add, but these are my feelings regarding ponytails: When the male ponytail becomes more than just a bundle of hair, and instead, an extension of his ego, that is when he should cut it off. All ponytail styles of this nature are unacceptable. Buns are okay.

They've released two EPs (2012's Fuck Chastity Belt and Dude) and the single "Seattle Party" so far, and all of it is available on their bandcamp page as a name your price download. You can see them live this Friday (the 21st) at Columbia City Theater, and Saturday (the 22nd) at Black Lodge for the Pony Time record release.