It's hard to talk about The Puppini Sisters without mentioning the "p"-word, so I'm just going to do it anyway. There's three of them, they have an all boy backing band and they all seem to dress similarly - I could easily be describing The Pipettes. The crucial point though, is that none of that matters. It's a refreshing change considering the amount of generic prettyboy indie bands out there at the moment.
The live experience was provocative but charming and rapturous applause followed every song. I was quite apprehensive before the gig but all credit to them, I don't think I've ever seen a crowd so enamoured with a relatively small act at an instore performance before.
It helps that most of the material is (I hesistate to use the word novelty) cover songs - modern takes on past classics. Songs like The Smith's 'Panic' and 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush are all deconstructed then reconstructed Puppini-style. I'm sure Morrissey is not best pleased (but is he ever? Mopey old so and so). I distinctly remember a particularly great song that I can only describe as an Italian gyspy punk clapfest with a bit of the 'Star Spangled Banner' added for good measure.
The Puppini Sisters - Wuthering Heights (Clip)
I totally nicked the above track off Copy, Right? [link] but Homo Electic has a full version [link] along with a couple of others. Oh and Rich Girls Are Weeping has just put up another Puppini track [link].
Yes, they're tongue in cheek and hardly the most ground breaking act around but just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Catch them at tomorrow's free Fruitstock [link] event where they will be joining fellow novelty cover enthusiasts Nouvelle Vague.
Listen to tracks on The Puppini Sisters MySpace [link] and buy debut album 'Betcha Bottom Dollar' from HMV [link].
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