Elle magazine has compiled a list of twelve of the greatest female electric guitarists ever.
It’s a pretty awesome list, but it doesn’t have any audio, so I’ve rounded up some sites with audio or video from all twelve (links after the jump).
This isn’t exactly a new album, but I just learned that it’s available for free download, so what better time to review it? (You have to answer a quiz to download it, but it’s easier than it looks.)
Donita Sparks was one of the guitar players in L7, an all-female grunge band. Transmiticate is her first solo album. There’s no shortage of steady beats and crunchy guitar, but the overall sound is slightly mellow (at least compared to L7). The vocals are what pull each track together: simple-yet-interesting, and totally solid. The lyrics are a teensy bit cryptic, in that great way that doesn’t hit you until the song finishes and you realise that you aren’t quite sure what it was about. A high point is My Skin’s Too Thin, a catchy little relationship song that, unlike most relationship songs, is neither cloyingly sweet nor about a breakup. You should totally give this a listen.
(If you’d like to hear another review, try this one on NPR)
