How to describe Gina Birch? Well, if you’ve not heard of her, shame on you, especially if you consider yourself to be into all things indie, post-punk and alternative. The press release for this album describes her as artist-songwriter-filmmaker-feminist-icon, which probably comes some considerable way to starting to get to grips with her and her work. She’s best known as a bass player in the hugely influential post-punk band The Raincoats (Yes, their most famous fan is Kurt Cobain but they are a band which to this day is responsible for socially conscious rock groups being formed in garages and halls across the globe).
Even before that, she showed that she was uncompromising. In 1977, she debuted one of her most recognised art pieces, the short film 3 Minute Scream, in which she stares down the camera and, as the title suggests, screams for the duration of a Super 8 cartridge. In 2024 it was shown in Women in Revolt, an exhibition of feminist art and activism at Tate Britain (see here for a shortened version, courtesy of YouTube). Some people will never ‘get’ these things, and there’s no point trying to win them over.
Two years ago, Birch released her debut solo album, I Play My Bass Loud. Though this sounds very little like that record (but it gave me the chance to listen to it again!) this is a more than worthy successor, which sees Gina teaming up once again with Youth, the acclaimed producer and former member of the legendary Killing Joke, and engineer and mixer Michael Rendall. The album opens with the phenomenal ‘I’m Going to Live Forever‘ which mixes poking fun at the idea of holding onto the past, mixed with music which draws on both trip-hop and reggae. It’s extremely effective, and sets the stage for a number of wildly different tracks which show just how talented she and her team are. Lesser artists would have rested on their laurels, but she has no interest in trading on past glories.
There’s the drones meets harmonies of ‘Hey Hey,’ which contrasts rather nicely with ‘Cello Song (Tape Loop)‘ – the only thing the latter has in common with the Nick Drake song is the title and the instrument. Meanwhile, for the six minute title track. she asked several female artists, including legends like Cosey Fanni Tutti and Caroline Coon, to record themselves saying the names of women who have inspired them, and caused trouble. The song reaches a crescendo with an impressive list being read aloud: Nina Simone, Grace Jones, Elizabeth I, Stormy Daniels…
So, yes, another triumph, then. Birch is a legend, still doing things on her own terms. Long may she run. Oh…and not only dos this album deserve to be played loud, but it deserves to be played on the best quality speakers you can find, so as to get the full benefit of the bass within…
