Fussy

In three words: glittering garage rock

The whole set: I recently saw the greatest artist you’ve probably never heard of: Du Blonde.

Geordie-born Du Blonde’s latest album is a pop-punk paradise. It’s packed with nostalgia-inducing riffs and is titled ‘Sniff More Gritty’, which she swears is literally about clearing a blocked nose. Her album cover doesn’t do this assertion any favours.

Pillowy lips and sultry eyes entice you to come closer, only to reveal that things aren’t as they seem. An illusion of abysmal dental health lies inches below sharp-as-knives eyeliner that transgresses feminine ideals (she identifies as non-binary but uses she/her pronouns). She brings this element of surprise to her live sets too.

Her sparkly corset and miniskirt contradicts a self-effacing demeanour. On stage in a packed-out Scala in King’s Cross she fronts a band that’s as cohesive as it is vibrant. She heartily praises them as ‘hardworking, salt of the earth people with talent spewing out of their nose holes’.

The melodic hooks just do not stop. In typical punk fashion, their euphoric quality belies the lyrics that tell stories of illness, toxic relationships and dysphoria that she belts out with a velvety voice: ‘You touch my body and I cry / I swear that I don’t wanna die / Just don’t feel like it belongs to me’, she sings raucously on Blame.

I’m Glad That We Broke Up from the album ‘Homecoming’is as anthemic as Green Day’s Basket Case. Her sound reminds me of so many great artists: No Doubt, Paramore, Blondie… The teenager in me can’t get enough. A moment of unexpected magic is a rendition of Pelican Canyon, a heartbreakingly gorgeous folk song written and recorded with Future Islands’s Samuel T Herring. I’ve had it on repeat since.

I wonder why Du Blonde hasn’t made it big yet, with fifteen years of experience under her belt and such blatant talent. As we’ve seen with Charli XCX and Beyoncé’s long overdue Grammy for Album of the Year, the formula of success in this industry is a subtle – but ongoing – alchemy.

Du Blonde is playing on May 18 at EartH in Hackney for Ezra Furman’s A World of Love and Care, and on May 19 at Dust in Brighton. Follow her on instagram.

This article was originally published by LONDNR as part of The LOWDOWN newsletter. Sign up at londnr.substack.com/