Genre/Influences: Post-Punk, Psychedelic-Rock.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Ġenn is a Brighton (UK) based formation with Maltese roots which released their debut-EP in 2021. “Unum” is the band’s album debut featuring eleven songs. The band is composed of four female members.

Content: There are multiple influences running through this work. I think it would be too easy calling it Psychedelic-Rock as they obviously deal with extra elements like Post-Punk and even Trance. Ġenn is driven by solid and transcendental guitar playing creating to me a weird offspring between B52s and Nirvana.

+ + + : The guitar play injects the true spirit to this work  and still creates an hypnotic sensation during “A Muse (In Limbo)” and “Heloise”. The elevating effect of both songs is impressive, revealing the potential of the band. I also have to say a word about the powerful vocals injecting passion.

– – – : The main difficulty is to define and catch the sound of this formation. But on the other side it also says something about originality.

Conclusion: Ġenn sounds a bit out of the box and yet it has something recognizable.

Best songs: “A Muse (In Limbo)”, “Heloise”, “Le Saut Du Pigeon”. 

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.genntheband.com / www.facebook.com/genntheband

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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(Photo by Jordan Core) Out now is the new single from the Brighton based post-punk act Ġenn. “Rohmeresse” is also released as a video which you can see below. Ġenn is a 4-piece consisting of L-R Sofia Rosa Cooper (drums), Janelle Borg (guitars), Leona Farrugia (vocals) and Leanne Zammit (bass). The first iteration of the band started 10 years ago in Malta, before moving to Brighton, where they met Sofia. Still Brighton based, they are Anglo-Maltese, with Jamaican and Portuguese roots.

Here’s what vocalist Leona Farrugia says about the song: “I’ve often felt a pressure running through everyday life: a pressure to be productive whilst being true to oneself. Modern life can be very dissociative and small tasks become a real burden to uphold. I wanted to capture these thoughts through the track, whereby these emotions gradually build to a point of ecstasy.”

The track’s title nods to French new wave director Éric Rohmer, who’s characters often struggle through the morals and desires of quotidian life.

Support for Pussy Riot UK Tour

Ġenn have been announced to support Pussy Riot on their UK tour from the end of the month, until their own headline dates in Bristol, London, and Brighton (* supporting Pussy Riot).

• 30th October – Bristol, SWX*
• 31st October – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club*
• 1st November – Colchester, Arts Centre*
• 2nd November – Cambridge, Junction 2*
• 6th November – London, Earth Theatre*
• 8th November – Edinburgh, Summerhall*
• 9th November – Manchester, Band on the Wall*
• 10th November – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms*
• 11th November – Newcastle, Cluny 2*
• 12th November – The Great Western festival
• 18 November – The Lanes, Bristol (free entry)
• 23rd November – Paper Dress Vintage, London
• 24th November – Green Door Store, Brighton

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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