This Aussie songstress has been doing her thing for over a decade now, but she’s never been too content for too long with where she’s been. You’d hope that when she releases Kiss My Apocalypse next year she’ll become more than a cult icon, and continue where she left off with her move from being in a string of bands to playing solo.
There aren’t many axe-wielding rockers like Abbe May around; she’s something special, with a fiery provocative voice tempered by the incisive way in which she bonds with her guitar. Only Band of Skulls at their most brooding come to mind for a basis of comparison with Abbe May’s previous album release. Design Desire begins as it means to go on, the titular track opening proceedings with a scorching riff before diving into slow ruminating guitar playing and siren-like chanting and howling.
She doesn’t necessarily want to be the champion of the contemporary female rocker but that won’t stop any contemporaries and fans from seeing her as such, even in spite of her going far beyond simply the rock ‘n’ roll genre. ‘Feeling Like A Man, Looking Like A Woman’ is more literal than most of her other ‘doom-pop’ tracks but she wears her sexuality on her sleeves for the most part, and even on Hawaiian Disease (her record with The Rockin’ Pneumonia) that seductive quality’s very much prevalent.
“[Design Desire] is a good record to blast while you’re watching soft-core porn montages from True Blood”. Of the limited mainstream press coverage of her up to this point, one comment on a review of Design Desire sums up not just the album but her sound quite succinctly. Better job at doing that than I can, I’d reckon; at this point you’re best hitting play below or watching the music video at the top.
‘Karmaggedon’ will be featured on her first UK single T.R.O.U.B.L.E, released March 18th, 2013. Hopefully this is accompanied by a tour of some sorts, Australia can’t keep someone this good hidden forever.
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