Nouvellas

Having cut their teeth teetering between the soulful grit and pastiche which so readily identified their earlier incarnation of the Dansettes, Nouvellas have shaken free the bonds of girl-group matching outfits to unleash a set of songs beholden to nobody but themselves. Though retaining their pop sensibility, their songs reflect a more organic approach to their songwriting, now incorporating the sounds of country, rock 'n' roll and even bits of heavy metal to the classic soul bread-and-butter that sustained their earlier manifestation. No longer the primped sweethearts they once portrayed, the twin lead vocal attack of Jaime Kozyra and Leah Fishman boils over to a gritty, soulful charge, making for a powerful stage dynamic. Keeping the grooves tight are chicken pickin' country acolyte Dennis Pierce on guitar, perennially bespectacled pop maven Andy Pierce on drums and recovering britpopster Joseph Babic handling the low notes. The equation may not make perfect sense to the uninitiated but the result is unquestionably a gutsy pop sensation in the making.