Stepping out of the gaze of the paparazzi and into the limelight of fronting a band, it seems that Pixie is doing a pretty good job with her band, Violet. Only recently formed, the band named themselves after the opening track from Hole's 1994 album, Live Through This - Courtney Love being Pixie's ultimate heroine. The singer has described the band's sound as "dreamy grunge act with big melodic vocals"
Pixie has said in interviews that Hole were "a huge influence on me growing up in a lot of ways - their music, their look - and 'Violet' is one of my favourite songs."
"The music is angry and dark and aggressive but it's still a love song; there's still a soft sentiment to it, the lyrics are fragile. I like that juxtaposition in music but I've kind of reversed it in my work. I wanted the music to be soft but the lyrics to be darker and heavier."
With Pixie on lead vocals and guitar, she's managed to scrape back some real credibility with the release of their debut single, Y.O.U. / I Come Undone through London-based label, Luv Luv Luv Records. Listen below.
Y.O.U.:
I Come Undone:
And yes, they do sound like Hole, a softer version that plays ballads, but still, you can tell the influence is very much there. Pixie delivers a "quietly angry attitude, while still revealing subtle glimmers of sweet vulnerability, singing lines like "Every part of me is breaking" in Y.O.U. I Come Undone is a painful slog to the end, detailing a relationship in tatters.
So If this is just the start of Violet's musical output, I'm looking forward to the rest!
Links: Twitter | Luv Luv Luv Records |