"Girl Gang"-Gin Wigmore
You could call it a musical kick-in-the-nuts to patriarchship. And, this song does it while wearing a pink pussy hat.
"I got fight, I got heart, I got the strength to tear it apart. I got bite, I got brains, I got the grace and power to reign."
Riding the blue wave of the #MeToo movement, New Zealand-native and LA resident Gin Wigmore has written, performed, recorded and produced the best women's empowerment anthem since we heard Helen Reddy roar in 1972.
I've been following Gin's career since I first heard that dynamic, raspy voice belting out a few lines of her "Man Like That" single as part of a 2012 James Bond/Heineken television ad. This year, she's endorsing grrrl power!
When it comes to a female fiat, there's been quite a bit of inspiration to draw from in the headlines over the past couple of years from a misogynistic president and a worldwide post-inaugural Women's March to a record number of women running for public office. Sure, there's all that, but add a few personal motives as well.
Wigmore cites a variety of issues from gender prejudice, shaming, and discrimination. She explaines to the New Zealand Herald, "When you have a big idea about something -- you're seen as being difficult, a diva, all these negative associations. And if you're a man, he's seen as a visionary with big ideas, a go-getter and a motivator."
Plus, one-year ago this month Gin became a mom for the first time. In fact, she titled her new album Ivory after her son. In an interview with Radio New Zealand, she relates, "So this project was a way to bring us together, celebrate women, realize and show the world that there is room for everyone. That there is room for all of us."
"Girl Gang" -- driven by persistent and powerful percussion -- is Wigmore's infectious, gritty, confident, uplifting yet defiant indie rock 'n' roll call-to-arms built (as she sings) on the bones of Brando. Gin calls it a sass attack and hopes it will empower women to "take a stronger stride, a louder opinion and a right to love, adore and praise who you are."
Men... step aside.
"It's a girl gang... boy, you wish you could join."
