While I remain unconvinced that the world needs anything resembling a band that lies between L7, Garbage and Queenadreena, consequent plays of Waiting To Burn reveal that London’s Hana Piranha are not content merely to stroke the same labrador ad infinitum, especially if there are other dogs in the room too. But while there’s every chance of them picking up a bronze medal here and there, Best In Show seems somewhat out of reach, mainly due to some of their songs sounding like fucking Paramore.
Still, there is plenty here that will ruffle the coats of even the most disobedient doggy dissenters. For example ‘Naked Flame‘ sounds like something from Catatonia‘s International Velvet, and its successor, ‘Vanitas‘, features verses that seem like they might have come from the pen of Fiona Apple.
Perhaps the strongest track of the whole shebang though, is the dark and sleazy grunge of ‘Murderess‘ which immediately follows: “She’s a fighter, she’s a killer, she’ll get ya” sings the band’s henchwoman Hana Maria, recalling both Chrissie Hynde and Juliette Lewis along the way.
For all its ‘good boy’ moments though, Waiting To Burn still fouls the lamp post on occasion (ok, ok, I’ll quit with these canine references now. Not really sure why I even started them, to be honest), for example ‘Dark Secret Love‘, which sounds like an Evanescence tribute band with writer’s block. I realise that comment makes no sense, but neither does this album, given that some of it is tremendous fun, and on other tracks, you want to punish it by taking away its Pedigree Chum and replacing it with cheapo economy biscuits (yes, I lied. So sue me.)
Still, ‘Amateur‘ has an agreeable punky snarl about it (if we overlook the rhyming of the title with “mad at cha“), and there’s certainly plenty of feisty attitude in there. If you threw them a stick and shouted “fetch”, I’m pretty sure they would respond with “fetch it your fucking self, you lazy twat” or words to that effect.
So, in summation, sometimes it’s great, and sometimes it isn’t. Right, I’m off out for a walk.
https://hanapiranha.bandcamp.com/album/waiting-to-burn
Waiting To Burn is released independently on 22nd March.
