WIFE SWAP USA + PUSSYLIQUOR + ANTIFA SUPERSOLDIER. – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 6.12.24
Well that’s it then…Wife Swap USA are no more! Originally billed as being the “Hot new band & organised crime syndicate”, frontman Harry Saunders and his merry band of revolving chums have thoroughly entertained local music fans over the past handful of years, give or take a couple of Covid breaks. Their energy packed live shows have been infamous on the grassroots music circuit simply because they are terrific fun and you’re not really quite sure what’s going to happen!
So here I was 5 years ago at the bar of The Hope & Ruin in Queens Road, Brighton sharing some light-hearted banter with their friendly bar staff, who in the main knew who I was, namely the Music Editor at Brighton & Hove News. One of their staff that served me some no doubt well earned liquid refreshment, informed me that he’s literally just put a band together and they are looking to play their debut gig upstairs in the music room on the first floor on Friday 6th December 2019. Suffice to say I attended that concert and was totally hooked from the off!
The Wife Swap USA sound is I guess punk, but their songs have nearly always had that comedic subject matter. Good examples of these are ‘Mullet Envy’, ‘I Lost My Virginity’, ‘Sloths On The Run’, ‘You’ve Been At The Bins’ and ‘Too Sad To W*nk’. Sadly, over the duration of their five year run they only released one EP, which itself was comically titled ‘The Difficult Second Album’, and that saw the light of day on their first birthday, 6th December 2020. The tracklisting was ‘Too Sad To W*nk’, ‘Lipstick’, ‘Sniffin’ USA’ and ‘Snowstorm’. However I have it on cassette and the B-Side of it has been filled with ‘Mullet Envy’, ‘I Love The Pub’ (Live At The Prince Albert), ‘Line Of Hardbass’ and ‘Too Sad To W*nk’ (The Cowboy’s Acoustic Version). Their ‘Snowstorm’ song also turned up on Love Thy Neighbour’s ‘TRIPTYCH V:1’ compilation EP, which on vinyl was limited to 15 copies! Interestingly, this EP also has ‘F*ck Myself’ by the Lambrini Girls, two of whom have previously played as members of Wife Swap USA, as have a couple from Lime Garden as well. So clearly Wife Swap USA has been a stepping stone for other avenues!
So onto this evening’s last ever Wife Swap USA performance, which is obviously a sold out affair, and the band are back where it all began, The Hope & Ruin. So much water has passed under the bridge since their first concert, and this even sees Harry as the sole surviving member of the band from five years ago, mind you, having said that, it is his band! Tonight’s lineup is made up of Harry Saunders on lead vocals and many comic capers; Mads who is the former drummer of currls and vocals in solo project Madeline North; Jane of Brighton legends Heirloom, who is on guitar; Zoe who is bass player of pop punk bunk Buds; Cameron on synth who has played in Kim Jarvis and the blood suckers; and finally some assistance from Nez who I was informed was on “room service”, but backing vocals and tambourine were also required.
The half dozen musicians take to The Hope & Ruin stage and I’m pleased to say that Harry hasn’t mellowed with age and within a few seconds of openers ‘Intro’ and ‘Sniffin’ USA’, Harry bolted through the crowd and mingled with the faithful that were gathered. Meanwhile, back on stage, his new chums were rattling through the notes with smiles on their faces. It’s a chaotic start, but then Wife Swap USA gigs always are. Harry returns to the stage in order to announce “This is our Christmas song” and the launch into ‘Snowstorm’ which is the third in a row to be found on their ‘The Difficult Second Album’. No sooner has he said this that he’s off again and moshing in the crowd! Clearly tonight is going to be a memorable one!
The band were getting ready to play the first of no less than four unreleased numbers, and Harry (now back on stage) says that he would like to dedicate the next tune, ‘I Wanna Play In A Punk Rock Band’, to three groups of people. The first being opening act of the night Antifa Supersoldier. (which is spelt with a dot at the end), the second being the support band that have recently vacated the stage, these being Pussyliquor and astonishingly the third dedication went to myself and my partner Jordan Mooney RIP, possibly because of the support and encouragement we have given the band from the very start. What an absolute legend Harry is!
The second unreleased number was up next, this being ‘I Lost My Virginity’ which was “for all you virgin’s out there!”. Yet again Harry came and had a dance, in fact, I think that he might have done this on every single tune of their 12 song set. The next song was arguably more of an interlude than an actual track, but the musicians did play, so we’re counting this one. Prior to its commencement Nez who is on stage to our left begins readying a couple of unopened bottles of Tuaca, which Harry complete’s and securely tapes on either side of a sturdy poll and thus ‘Tuaca On A Stick’ song is born. The rather tasty drink is then poured at a great height, just like the txakoli drink is in San Sebastian in the Basque Country is poured, and eager punters opened their mouths, myself included as I’m not driving tonight, and the alcohol descends into the mouths, up noses, and down t-shirts. As there are two bottles, many of those punters present are able to have a taster. Suffice to say that this was the longest version of ‘Tuaca On A Stick’ I ever heard them play, due to Harry having to empty both bottles.
The last unreleased number of this section was dedicated to the Rotten Foxes, who were a local Brighton punk rock outfit that we reviewed a few times, prior to their singer leaving the country and the remaining band members joining Young Francis HiFi as well as forming the terrific Top Left Club. The title of this track aptly being called ‘You’ve Been At The Bins’. It’s at this point in proceedings that keyboard player Cameron is likened to the former Libyan revolutionary Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, which I think is a little harsh, but nothing this evening is meant in malice, it’s all just one big party event. On that note, we learn that the next tune is actually about depression, it’s called ‘Too Sad To W*nk’. Moving on, and the next track is called ‘I Love The Pub’ and for this Harry was not only back in amongst the punters but also climbed on the bar at the rear of the room.
Their penultimate live song was ‘Lipstick’ from ‘The Difficult Second Album’ EP and this is just about my fave Wife Swap USA composition, it’s so solid. They finally signed off with the unreleased ‘I Don’t Wanna Work In A Bar Anymore’ which obviously witnessed Harry having one last mosh and the remaining band members let off confetti cannons and once the tune was finished their famed outro tune blasted out through the speakers. This being the 1998 smash hit ‘We Like to Party!’ by Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys. Singalong now… “The Vengabus is coming; And everybody’s jumping; New York to San Francisco; An intercity disco”. And so the band and the audience danced away, and even I was enticed by Victoria from Pussyliquor to have a boogie! It had been a wonderful performance and one that will live long in the memory!
Wife Swap USA:
Harry – lead vocals
Jane – guitar, backing vocals
Cameron – keys, backing vocals
Zoe – bass, backing vocals
Mads – drums, backing vocals
Nez – backing vocals, tambourine
Wife Swap USA setlist:
‘Intro’ (unreleased)
‘Sniffin USA’ (from 2020 ‘The Difficult Second Album’ EP)
‘Mullet Envy’ (from 2020 ‘The Difficult Second Album’ EP cassette version)
‘Snowstorm’ (from 2020 ‘The Difficult Second Album’ EP & 2022 ‘TRIPTYCH V:1’ compilation EP)
‘I Wanna Play In A Punk Rock Band’ (unreleased)
‘I Lost My Virginity’ (unreleased)
‘Tuaca On A Stick’ (unreleased)
‘You’ve Been At The Bins’ (unreleased)
‘Too Sad To W*nk’ (from 2020 ‘The Difficult Second Album’ EP)
‘I Love The Pub’ (from 2020 ‘The Difficult Second Album’ EP cassette version)
‘Lipstick’ (from 2020 ‘The Difficult Second Album’ EP)
‘I Don’t Wanna Work In A Bar Anymore’ (unreleased)
www.instagram.com/wifeswapusaband
The main support band this evening were the rather wonderful Pussyliquor who we have reviewed on a number of occasions over the past few years and indeed they operate very much along the same lines as Wife Swap USA, which is punk with fun and some removal of clothing along the way. The current lineup of the band is Ari Black (vocals), Hannah Villanueva (guitar, backing vocals), Tallulah Turner-Fray (bass, backing vocals), Victoria Lewis Piper (drums, backing vocals) and latest recruit Oshen Dee on guitar and backing vocals. Like Wife Swap USA, Jordan Mooney was also a big fan of Pussyliquor, and it’s pretty certain that if Pussyliquor hasn’t taken out a short hiatus around the time of Jordan’s passing, that they would have been asked to play live at her memorial concert at the Concorde 2.
Pussyliquor have released a trio of EP’s, ‘It’s Pussyliquor Not Rocket Science’ (2024), ‘What Of It’ (2018) and ‘7” Wonder’ (2017) and like the Lambrini Girls they certainly speak their mind and so arguably should also be on the front cover of just as many magazines as ‘The Brinis’ currently are, but I guess the promotion machine monster hasn’t discovered them yet!
This evening’s Pussyliquor set consists of a mere 8 tunes across the 31 minutes (running from 8:46pm until 9:17pm) and interestingly one of the final numbers that gets played at gigs is actually their opener this evening, this being their 2018 ‘C.*.N.T.’ single, which also turned up on their ‘What Of It’ EP. This simple chantalong classic gets many punters shouting out the one word chorus, highbrow it is not, naughty fun it is! They follow this with their rendition of Shel Silverstein’s 1962 ‘Boa Constrictor’ tune, which they simply refer to as ‘Boa’. I’m sure you know the words…“I‘m being eaten by a Boa Constrictor; A Boa Constrictor; A Boa Constrictor; I’m being eaten by a Boa Constrictor; And I don’t like it one bit; Whadaya know, it’s nibblin’ my toe; Oh gee, it’s up to my knee; Oh fiddle, it’s up to my middle; Oh heck, it’s up to my neck; Oh dread, it’s mm-mm-mm-mm”.
Track three is ‘Kitty Kitty’ from their ‘7” Wonder’ EP and is followed by ‘Pesticide’ which is found on their recent ‘It’s PUSSYLIQUOR, Not Rocket Science!’ EP. These tracks, like all the others, are delivered with joy and the band members’ faces regularly have smiles or laughs on them. As custom, frontperson Ari and drummer Victoria have partly discarded some of their outer clothing, which I guess is also just like the Lambrini Girls. Victoria’s drumming was truly solid on the unreleased ‘Young Love’, which is delivered in typical shouty vocal style from Ari and her supporting cast. Their pertinent female ‘My Body. My Choice.’ 2018 single is given an airing next and this too has simple singalong lyrics.
Their penultimate track Ari tells us is her least favourite Pussyliquor tune, this being the tongue in cheek ‘Pretty Good For A Girl’ which is found on their 2017 ‘7” Wonder’ EP. There’s a new band that are on the up and coming at us from The Isle Of White and are called The Pill and the feeling of their music and lyrical content is very similar to this Pussyliquor tune, especially on their brand new ‘Woman Driver’ single. The final number of their set is called ‘Cats’ and this is currently unreleased and it has a decent rockabilly vibe. This evening’s performance saw the band in an even friskier mood than usual, must be that paaarrrtttyyy atmosphere! Yet again another great experience!
Pussyliquor:
Ari Black – vocals
Hannah Villanueva – guitar
Tallulah Turner-Fray – bass
Victoria Lewis Piper – drums
Oshen Dee – guitar
Pussyliquor setlist:
‘C.*.N.T.’ (a 2018 single release)
‘Boa’ (unreleased) (Shel Silverstein cover)
‘Kitty Kitty’ (from 2017 ‘7” Wonder’ EP)
‘Pesticide’ (from 2024 ‘It’s PUSSYLIQUOR, Not Rocket Science!’ EP)
‘Young Love’ (unreleased)
‘My Body. My Choice.’ (a 2018 single release)
‘Pretty Good For A Girl’ (from 2017 ‘7” Wonder’ EP)
‘Cats’ (unreleased)
Opening up proceedings this evening are Antifa Supersoldier. who I haven’t yet had the pleasure of witnessing, although our team have reviewed them once before at the tail end of August. They are a punk and post-hardcore 4-piece from here in Brighton and have adopted the following stage names: Foxhound (she/her) on lead guitar/lead vocals, Felon (she/they) on rhythm guitar, Firebird (she/her) on bas, and finally Mainstay (they/them) on drums. I’m guessing once seen, never forgotten with this quartet on account of them all wearing balaclava face masks, just like members of Sp*nk Volcano, plus Kneecap tend to do. The band is inspired by “American post-punk hardcore, with the Manics’ lyricism” and as far as I can tell have only released one tune, this being last year’s ‘Return On Investment’, which they incidentally begin their 26 minute half dozen song set with. Foxhound opens by saying “You are in our company for the next half hour, sorry about that…This is a song about the holocaust!”.
Antifa Supersoldier. are an outfit that are clearly blurring the boundary lines of perceived genders and are clearly proud of it, and why not! Their music is loud out and out punk rock but with added occasional heavy rock guitar, just like their second number ‘Semi-Autogynephile’. A term I don’t recall having come across before, and so after liaising with the band they have stated in their eyes it is““Autogynephile” is a slur against transgender women created by a “discredited”“sexologist”. It is an illegitimate and widely mocked in the trans community as a pseudo-medical term made up of mangled Latin”. I guess this ties in with a comment my colleague noted in their first review with us that said “At times, the presentation and lyrics were confrontational. But, this only served to engage the listener more”.
Song three, ‘I Don’t Want Justice (I Want Revenge)’, offered the same fast energy but now with hints of Green Day instead of the sound of 1977. They then well and truly wandered over into heavy rock with fast guitar riffs a plenty for ‘East Berlin’ and ‘Sickles’. We are informed their last tune, ‘Afghanistan’, is all about the Labour party and this was back in 1977 territory with decent choruses as well. They’re a noisy lot with a sense of self deprecating humour. ‘Rebellion’ punk rock festival here they come. They ended at 8:26pm to rapturous applause, which was very impressive, especially as they were the first band of the night.
Antifa Supersoldier.:
Foxhound (she/her) – lead vocals, lead guitar
Felon (she/they) – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Firebird (she/her) – bass, backing vocals
Mainstay (they/them) – drums
Antifa Supersoldier. setlist:
‘Return On Investment’ (a 2023 single)
‘Semi-Autogynephile’ (unreleased)
‘I Don’t Want Justice (I Want Revenge)’ (unreleased)
‘East Berlin’ (unreleased)
‘Sickles’ (unreleased)
‘Afghanistan’ (unreleased)
linktr.ee/antifa_supersoldier_band
