A great blast of unabashed urgency and sass, L.A. band The Sharp Ease combine the best of underground art punk with effortlessly catchy hooks and undeniable presence to emerge with one of the true standout releases of the past month.
While "post-riot grrrl" has become just as lazy a journalistic term now as riot grrrl itself became ten years ago, one can definitely hear the evolution of the sound, attitude and intelligence of bands like Sleater-Kinney and The Bangs in The Sharp Ease's energetic, jagged but always tuneful music interplay and the by turns exclamatory and cool-as-a-cucumber vocals of singer Paloma Parfrey. Remain Instant is made up of an inspiring, utterly engaging batch of songs from start to finish. They are undoubtedly a band to watch closely.