The Wanton Looks

By Dave Miller

Emily Agustin of the Maybenauts offered a review of The Wanton Looks on her way to the stage. “That sucks,” she said to Wanton Looks guitarist Susie Q. “I got to follow that?”

The Wanton Looks dropped a rock bomb on Quenchers’ stage late Saturday night, blitzing through 11 songs in 45 minutes and decimating everything in their path. The room held 100. The performance warranted a setting at least 10 times that size. Lead singer and bassist Traci Trouble, drummer Meg Thomas and guitarists Inga Olson and Susie Q. played a thrilling show and showed once again that they have the look, the attitude, the chops and, crucially, the songs to hit the big time.

I’ve seen them three times now and their tough, three-chord rock and roll sweetened by hooks and harmonies have sounded more powerful each time. On this night, Trouble may have celebrated a friend’s birthday a bit too much before the show as she was the loosest I’ve seen her and even a little sloppy at times, but she still commanded the stage with fearless authority. Heck, she was even exciting during soundcheck. Trouble pounded her bass and Susie Q. ripped off guitar notes as if they were starting the show, even though the real opening was still minutes away. Once the show kicked off with “Get Through to You,” Olson wielded her guitar like a switchblade. She provided Bangles-like backing vocals on “Worst Side of Me” and cut nifty licks into the closing “Demons.”

By the end of the set, drummer Meg Thomas stood above her kit with her arms raised in triumph. It concluded a monster performance by her and the band. She was all over the drums all night like a punk Buddy Rich, providing a pounding sophistication to the group’s lean and mean sound.

The Wanton Looks have recorded an album and will be shopping it to labels for a planned 2011 release. With competent management and promotion, they should explode. Their next shows are Nov. 30 at Liar’s Club and Dec. 10 at The Jackhammer in Chicago. Catch them in intimate venues while you can. They don’t figure to be playing them much longer.
- Chicagoconcertgoers.com

For the sake of argument, let’s try to imagine a world where everything even indirectly related to rock ’n’ roll is as insufferably uncool as your gouty aunt’s country-club bridge game. While it’s a safe bet that rock would lose 99.9 percent of its fans to other modes of conspicuous consumption, you can be sure that local rocker Traci Trouble (formerly of Hotlips Messiah and the Paper Bullets) would still be doing everything she’s doing now. I’ve met very few people as passionately dedicated to “the rock” as Trouble, and for her new band, the Wanton Looks, she’s found three other women who share her devotion. Songs like “Worst Side of Me” (on an upcoming seven-inch comp from Kalamazoo’s UFO Dictator Records) and “Demons” combine the snarly, cocksure aggression of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts with Buzzcocks-a-riffic guitar solos and a surplus of well-placed vocal hooks. —Brian Costello, Chicago Reader - Chicago Reader

I ventured out into the arctic cold Thursday night and wound up discovering my new favorite band. It took about five seconds to see The Wanton Looks mean business. That's all it took for the band to blast their show into lift-off. I recognized the four girls in the band immediately as fellow believers in the power of rock and roll. They say they will break your face and your heart. I don't doubt they can do that. But they'll also rock you. Throw in some power-pop hooks and punk attitude and hang on for a joy ride.

The Wanton Looks headlined a four-band bill on a "Girls Out of the Garage" showcase at Lincoln Hall. They were by far the best band. You want to know what's funny? Bassist and lead singer Traci Trouble, guitarists Inga Olson and Susie Q, and drummer Meg Thomas have been together for just about a year and have played only about 10 shows. For them to be this good as a band in such a short time together is indicative of the chemistry they share. Trouble gives you the impression that she's earned her name. She's the band's main creative force and its physical one, too, flanked by engaging guitarsts Olson and Susie Q and backed by Thomas, who pounds the drums with relentless purpose. Each has a strong stage presence - with no pretense. They look like a gang ready to take on the world. They seemingly have the talent, look and passion to do it, too.

The 40-minute set contained 10 strong songs, which is about the number they have written. They plan to go into a recording studio soon. A smart record company will sign 'em, release a full-blown album and send 'em on the road to rock the world.
- Chicagoconcertgoers.com

Bad-girl harmonies (think Shangri-La’s) meet fuzzed-up guitar and relentless tempos. Sure it’s been done countless times before, but when it’s done well – with fizzy hooks and towering sing-along choruses – who can complain? “Electromagnetic Force” is aptly named, “Demons” stomps like Motorhead, the first chord on “Worst Side of Me” sounds like a bomb detonating. -Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune - Chicago Tribune

The all-female four-piece Wanton Looks closed out the night with their brand of old fashioned punk with killer harmonies and infectious guitar solos. Lead singer Traci Trouble is a true rock star in the making, effectively using her pulpit to make the audience laugh as well as draw them into the music by bouncing around on stage and at one point, collapsing on the floor.
All the while Trouble grinned widely, clearly enjoying herself; the crowd was right there along with her eating up every minute of the action. The Wanton Looks ended their set with the song “Electromagnetic Force.” It is the kind of song that stays inside your head long after the show ends because of its lingering guitar solos (courtesy of Susie Q and Inga Olson) and impeccable drum beats (courtesy of Meg Thomas).

The Girls out of the Garage showcase at Lincoln Hall proved that there is a considerable wealth of female talent in the Chicago rock scene. The four bands presented on this night are certainly ones to keep an eye out for in the near future. - Loudlooppress.com