Barfly
29.10.2010
When it comes to rock, no matter how bone-crushing the riffs or emotion-wrenching the lyrics, at one point the question of sex appeal will inevitably rear its ugly head.
‘The boys want to be them, and the girls want to be with them’- a statement true for most male rock bands who know that even if they are born as attractive as a mud skipper, this can be easily covered with the growth of a viking-esk beard. What about front women? Too overtly sexual you risk losing the girls, but too arrogant you could end up a female Johnny Borrell…
This is where Ramona lead the way, front-woman Karen Anne embodies effortlessly-cool, well effortlessly. Cheekbones you could grate cheddar on and a tomboyness that suggests she changed into tonight’s tee in a Lock Tavern cubicle. Spiky, sexy yet unassuming, the girl has ‘it’.
Launching into the pop-punk, Blondie-esk How Long the sounds of the scuzzy guitar and massive chorus fill the room. The energy zoomed from corpse to Duracell bunny in minutes as Ramona’s bursts of short yet sharp tracks pump into the night.
A surprising choice of cover, the Blueboy track Remember Me was immediately popular, the frenzied guitar updated it superbly and Karen’s voice revealed a unforeseen soulful quality.
A love letter written to woo the Big Apple, New York elicits a great response, as does the nights closure, Steve McQueen written “about a cock”. Before you know it the gigs over, frenzied and infectious.
Refreshing, youthful and saturated with legendary influences from the Ramones and Undertones, Ramona is gonna get there, and fast.
