Ides Of Gemini - Women album review

It’s been a trying few years for this LA post-punk/proto-goth outfit, the band unable to capitalise on the momentum of their acclaimed second album, Old World New Wave, and a US tour with Ghost due to drummer Kelly Johnston-Gibson suffering serious injury. Saviours’ Scott Batiste was brought onboard, the band later expanding to a four-piece with the addition of bassist Adam Murray, allowing founder Sera Timms to focus solely on a dominant and fertile baritone that, as on energetic opener Mother Kiev, frequently functions as counterpoint to songwriter J Bennet’s choppy, high-energy guitar. The record feels loose, spacious – each song a variation on their haunting aesthetic, from the spitefully spellbinding The Dancer to the glittering, new wave seduction of She Has A Secret. Each track on Women explores a different aspect of its self-evident theme: not quite metal, not quite punk, not quite anything but a law unto itself, proving that the fecundity of the underground relies upon such unique and captivating expressions of diversity.