After nearly ten years of band history and numerous changes in the line-up, the Barbe-Q-Barbies have finally released their long awaited debut album "All Over You" in October 2010. It included a record release show in their hometown Helsinki, which took place at the same time like Michael Monroe`s night show - and the girls managed it to steal a considerable part of his audience from him! But what is so special about these five ´femme fatales´ from Finland, especially in terms of music? Visually, the Barbe-Q-Barbies have quite a lot to offer, without any doubts. The ladies themselves as well as the artwork on the CD cover. It is mainly kept in a pastel yellow shade of colour and shows Niki Rock (Vocals), Kaisa (Guitar), Ekkis (Guitar), Niina (Drums) and Katja (Bass) posing in white clothes. So if the Barbe-Q-Barbies aren`t one thing, it`s "typical". And the same applies to their music!
Already the opener "Spell" - which was released as the first single of "All Over You" - clarifies with its guitar sound at the beginning right away: "Ok, our band consists of girls only but that doesn`t mean that we are playing like girls!" The clean production, the powerful voice of Niki and the mostly catchy choruses do the rest. Bands like AC/DC are mentioned by the Barbe-Q-Barbies as one of their influences.
The lyrics mainly deal with topics which appeal to the female listeners, such as guys and the not always easy relationships with them. But don`t worry: It doesn`t mean that there is a ballad, where Niki whines about a guy and how mean he has been to her. Such whiny ballads we have heard often enough from other girl rock bands. The Barbe-Q-Barbies are different and preferably accompany their ponderings with rocky sounds, like in "Rockstar". The quietest composition on the album is the final "Rock`n`Roll" - and even that one isn`t really a ballad. One could understand it as a nice dig at the "Rockstar" ("All we wanna do is play Rock`n`Roll"). Well, what men can do, the Barbe-Q-Barbies can do, too - in every respect!
Another mistake many girl combos do in my opinion is the desperate attempt to come across as somehow "crazy". The Barbe-Q-Barbies don`t need that - but to shoot a music video in a lunatic asylum seems to be fun anyway. That`s what they did for the second and current single of the album, "Twisted Little Sister". The two single releases definitely are the strongest songs on the album - but the absolute highlight is the title track "All Over You": Rock`n`Roll at its best! It will probably seduce even the hardest metal guy to headbang. Those who want to sway to more familiar tones might be pleased about the The Sweet cover "Wig-Wam Bam".
As the saying goes: Good things come to those who wait. We were waiting for a long, long time - and now we have got an album, which is much, much more than a compensation and was worth all the wait!
Stefanie Singh
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