Review: 'Short Change'

London-based quartet Woman Wept get us yearning for answers this Valentine's Day with a powerful debut single.

"The alternative ending to The Three Little Pigs"

Having already made themselves known at iconic London venues like The Amersham Arms in Lewisham and Dalston's The Victoria, Woman Wept are about to drop a hell of a debut. The band, who are Sophie (vocals), Nallie (bass), Fin (guitar) and Leo (drums), only formed in January '24 but look on an exciting trajectory already.

Blending 70s collars and 80s edginess, punk-ish delivery with a poppy charm, it's easy to see from where they get their inspiration. Femme & queer artists like Lambrini Girls, Dream Wife and Hole can be heard in the raw vocals and the crunchy choruses. Their look is cohesive. One glance and you'll have a good idea who they are. One listen and you'll know for sure.

Short Change itself is super bass-driven, coming in immediately with a really clean and dry production style. Nallie's playing is the main hook under the verses and compliments the vocal melody really well. There's some sort of slap-back delay both on the bass and the voice that really reminds me of Black Honey - so it wasn't a surprise to learn that it was mixed by their guitarist Chris Ostler! It's nothing derivative, though and it just suits the vibe of the track perfectly.

You can't go wrong with the classic 'quiet-loud-quiet' structure (thank you Pixies) and that's exactly what we get here, Fin's guitars setting the tone of each section. It sounds like there's a little phaser on the clean playing which I like. Apparently they have 'more pedals than most shoegaze bands' which is impressive but does make my arm ache at the thought of lugging them all around. Then, when the chorus comes, we get the double-tracked wall of power chords, a lead line played an octave or two above, and the bass now comes with added fuzz. It's good fun. Leo's drums are kept nice and simple. No need for dicking around, just keep everything chugging along.

The lyrics tell of the uncertainty around a partner's intentions, that feeling of not knowing whether to trust someone with your heart for fear of being hurt (or even short-changed...). There are playful references to electricity and sparks, being charged up and short-circuited. Sophie's vocals are genuinely fantastic, some of the little passages ("I'm feeling shaky//Thought you were leading me to safety") are sung with such satisfying phrasing that it really scratches a little itch in my brain. I'm sure there's a more technical way of putting it but you'll have to listen to know what I mean. I also do quite like that you can hear a trace of Sophie's Scottish accent.

It's short, it's sweet, it's what I like. Towards the end, it's even a little reminiscent of Le Tigre or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It's angry girl music of the indie rock persuasion. What more could you want for Valentine's Day?

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In all, it's a great debut with solid performances throughout and you can really tell that they'd be a lot of fun live. So if you are in, around or near the Camden area on Saturday 15th Feb then I'd highly recommend you head down to The Water Rats for the single launch. Woman Wept will be supported by SNM, Winnx & Porcelain Doll.

Hopefully, they can make the trip up north at some point because I am on minimum wage and I can't afford a train to London if I want to eat this month.

Presave the track here.

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Socials:

Insta: @womanweptuk

Facebook: Woman Wept

Email: womanweptband@gmail.com