Spitting gritty rap-punk verbalisations over abrasive industrial beats, Erin West is better known as shortstraw. and her latest single ‘clean up’ is two minutes and thirty seconds of smart, self-aware and straight-talking disruptive lyricism delivered over a spectacularly scuzzy rhythm.
Sharing sagacious compact urban aphorisms, like: “Counting my loose change, I watch the world go by/ Fuck it all went up in flames, I’ll put it out with a pint” over solid electronic modulations, less than a year since the project’s inception, shortstraw. has already received the much-deserved attention and heavy praise of a formidable cast of fellow rap and punk peers such as SOFT PLAY who took them out on tour toward the end of last year. Endorsements barely come more reliable.
‘clean up’ was released on 20th October 2023. We’ve featured it now due to shortstraw.’s appearance supporting The Libertines at Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, tomorrow evening – 27th January 2024 as well as in at The Drill in Lincoln on Monday 29th January. Both dates are fully sold out.
If you’re keen to know what a shortstraw. gig is like right now, then check out Amelia Fearon’s excellent review of their gig at Band On The Wall in Manchester last Sunday 21st January 2024 published on Louder Than War – https://louderthanwar.com/shortstraw-band-on-the-wall-manchester-live-review/
You can hear ‘clean up’ on the Spotify link below, or wherever else you stream your tunes: