Glitter And Spit is the title of UK duo Kirsty and Sara, The Pearls Harts, first full-length release.
They have garnered press adulation from their live shows and have been described as “the love-child of PJ Harvey and Nine Inch Nails” and “Black Sabbath played by The Runaways”. They have supported the likes of Stereophonics, Garbage and Skunk Anansie. Buyers of Classic Rock magazine should already be familiar with ‘Skeleton Made of Diamonds’, as it featured on one of their cover CDs a while ago.
One thing for sure, for a guitar and drum duo, they make a hell of a noise. Opening track ‘Black Blood‘ is certainly heavy with their shared vocals giving a surprising depth. Not as stand out as the excellent ‘Go Hard’. A bruising, drum-led song backed by a complex layering of guitar.
‘Lara’ is the only weak song with its minimal backing, relying instead on a poppy multi-tracked vocal arrangement. We are back on form with ‘Bonfires’. A slower track – until, that is, the drum madness at the end. After the tasteful ‘Lost in Time’, we hit heavy again with ‘The Chief’. A great riff with a Joan-Jett-like vocal giving us an adept and ever-changing track, which deserves to be a single.
‘Hit the Bottle’ has Iggy Pop all over it – a punkish, yet musical approach that works really well with the guitar bridge making it even better. The best is kept to last. ‘Hurt’ is a five-minute true rock track, with changing time signatures and a well thought guitar solo too.
A really talented duo that can only get better. There is a little too much pop fed into the mix on some tracks. Yet when they are in full-on heavy mode there is such a lot to like. It does pay to listen a few times, however, particularly to allow the ears to adapt to the apparent drum/guitar simplicity. It becomes more complex and likeable each time.
Definitely a band to watch out for on the live circuit and for their next album.
