The first thing you’ll probably notice about L’Assassins is their retro-inspired look. But the band’s lipstick-and-leather aesthetic is just part of the package. For these Minneapolis-based ladies, pin-up style and tough-girl attitude might be front and center, but they’ve got the songs – and the cred – to back it all up.
L’Assassins’ surf and rockabilly-tinged garage sound has landed them spots opening for many of their heroes, including Runaways frontwoman Cherie Currie and Andre Williams. In 2012, just a year after playing their first show, the band was handpicked to perform at the inaugural Girls Got Rhythm Fest, opening for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ronnie Spector (of the Ronettes), Japan’s the 5.6.7.8’s and Detroit bubblegum legend Nikki Corvette. While songs like “Backseat Bomp” immediately conjure classic artists like Spector and the 5.6.7.8’s – not to mention the Trashwomen, the Cramps, the Sonics and Wanda Jackson – L’Assassins never sound like a throwback. "We take a lot of our style and sound cues from different periods, but I don't think we put ourselves in any definable box," explains singer Tea Simpson.
The four-piece – Simpson, guitarist Monet Wong, bassist Ariel Dornbush and drummer Angela Clark – have also shared stages with plenty of quality contemporary artists (including SubPop’s Dum Dum Girls and Bloodshot’s Detroit Cobras), and have been invited to perform in the hallowed studios of Minnesota Public Radio. With their first European tour under their belts (documented in the video for “Lovin’ on the Run”), the ladies will release their first 12” and return to Europe in early 2014.
