Miss Destiny

Garage-punk and the leather-throated revial seem to have come and gone in the favor of the musical press junkies lately. Guitars being yesterdays toys, there’s marginal interest for sweat-wrung rock that evokes, while not necessarily photocopying, the mile-high heroes of a ’70s heyday. However, booming out of Melbourne, Miss Destiny have built up a reputation for tough-knuckled proto-punk that finds them lodged in a time when metal got thicker skin and faster tempos. They’re rocking like they couldn’t give a damn about tomorrow and finding a welcomed place on the shelf next to female-fronted pummelers from Heavy Cream and Vexx. The band, lead by ex-Circle Pit member Harriett Hudson, hold up Kiss and Danzig as their touchstones but their sound ends up falling right in the middle of that axis; harder hitting than the former and less self-serious than the latter.

They sound like they’re having fun with rock’s swagger. They evoke the kind of performances that might require learning how to lasso twirl a microphone and catch it fast before the next verse. They seep vibes of leather and whiskey, finding good company in Motörhead, Budgie and Girlschool as well. They even pull from a bit younger well of punk followers and forefathers. I’d swear there’s a touch of Bad Religion popping up on “Lucky Ones.” But enough name dropping, the band hold their own with amps on fire and strings ringing in your ears. Its easy to write off a band playing up the “rock band” aesthetics in maximalist fashion, but to be able to pull off such well-worn territory and make it not only feel like a lost totem of the past but fresh and vital in 2016 is a feat in its own right. The band make you want to buy a guitar and light the world on fire.