The Verse’s Luke Edmeades previews political folk-rockers She Drew the Gun ahead of their show at the Prince Albert as they take on Brighton on singer Louisa Roach’s birthday.
This week, the Nobel Prize in Literature was won by Bob Dylan, a songwriter who took inspiration from Woody Guthrie – a bluegrass-protest songwriter writing during America’s Great Depression with a sticker on his acoustic which read “This Machine Kills Fascists”. I mention this because She Drew the Gun’s lead vocalist, Louisa Roach, wrote the song Poem, which continues and updates the line of protest song in a period of comparable unrest. We are asked to consider our humanity, to consider those less well-off, and that cleaning the streets of the poor doesn’t eradicate the problem. Even the beat of the song reminds me of Johnny Cash’s Man in Black – a song about black rights in America at the height of racial tension.
She Drew The Gun have certainly made an impact, coming at a time in which there is an apathetic population politically, with songs which allow us to express discontentment through creative means guaranteeing interest. As with Taxman by The Beatles, and Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks in the 1960s, and Eton Riffles by The Jam in the late 1970s, She Drew The Gun have picked up that feeling, that excitement – the desire for change. They are not a purist protest band, and have songs which deal with narrative, which tell of discontent through a unique story, a myth. In If You Could See, Roach uses the power of hindsight, and warns to “pick up the fight, now”. All of this, with an energetic and – like in Pebbles on their new album – sometimes beautiful, simple style, will make you want to listen more. She Drew The Gun are cited by Steve Lamacq of BBC Radio 6 Music as “rising stars”. If you can make it, go and have a listen, not only to make you think, but to hear Louisa’s unique voice and lyricism.
She Drew the Gun are playing Brighton’s Prince Albert TONIGHT (Tuesday 18th October). Tickets available here for £8 + BF.
