n September of 2022, The Godfathers released a new record 36 years after their debut, and it was outstanding.  Earlier this year, The Damned released Darkadelic, a fantastic new record released some 46 years after their debut.  On July 28th, the all-female British rockers Girlschool again defied the odds.  With their first release in a decade, Girlschool has exceeded all expectations and has proven once again that a band that has existed for over forty years can still be capable of delivering the goods.   Girlschool’s latest, titled WTFortyfive?, delivers the goods and then some.  I cannot tell you how impressed I am with this release.  Twelve tracks strong, there’s not a clunker among them.  Perhaps what is most notable, is that Girlschool is led by Kim McAuliffe and Denise Dufort, who are both founding members of the band.  Girlschool has undergone many line-up changes in their history as would be expected, but these two women have been at this since 1978, and they have recorded all 14 Girlschool records together.  The line-up is rounded out with Jackie Chambers, a member since 1999, and Tracey Lamb, who has been in and out of the band since 1987.  I find that impressive.  The four women are between 59 and 65 years old, and on this record, they sound as good as ever.

I am a long-time fan of Girlschool, although I was a little bit late to the party.  In late 1984, I was introduced to the band by a girlfriend who had a poster of the band on her dorm room wall.  It was actually an over-sized gig flyer that said “GIRLSCHOOL, THE LOCK UP YOUR SONS TOUR.”  At that point, the band had released four records (Demolition, Hit and Run, Screaming Blue Murder and Play Dirty).  Hit and Run and Screaming Blue Murder became staples in my listening for years to come, and I have faithfully hunted down every release since that time.  Let’s be honest, not every record has been great, but most of them have been at least decent.  I’m here to tell you that WTFortyfive? is as good as almost anything they have ever released.  You would be hard-pressed to pick one absolute favorite track on the record, but for me, the catchiest songs are “Barmy Army,” “Invisible Killer,” “It’s a Mess,” “Are You Ready?” and “Party.”  All five of those tracks make me think of the band in the Hit and Run era.  The song “Barmy Army” comes from the bands’ fondest fans who used that moniker all the way back in 1980.  If there is one track on the record I don’t particularly like, it’s “Cold Dark Heart.”

If you want a bit of history on this band, they were considered part of what is known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.  They are often described as punk metal and have always had a bond with the band Motorhead, having recorded with them, and earning the nickname “the sisters of Motorhead.”  The albums Play Dirty and especially Running Wild became more polished and glammy, as they tried to break into the U.S. market following the success of Def Leppard’s Pyromania.  The women in Girlschool never tried to capitalize on sex appeal gimmickry, and they never focused on feminism either.  They simply have had a stellar career packed with great rock and roll.  In my opinion, their influence on female musicians has been almost as important as that of The Runaways and The Go-Go’s.

I would encourage anyone to check this record out.  Whether you are a long-time fan like me, or if you’re not familiar with the band, I think this release is well worth your time.  I’ll link one video to get you started (an excellent animated video), but I suggest you listen to the whole record on your favorite streaming service through your best headphones (or better yet, blast a vinyl copy on your turntable), but leave YouTube alone.  Sometimes videos can hurt rather than help your impressions of a band and its songs.

Girlschool WTFortyfive? - Track Listing:

1. It Is What It Is

2. Cold Dark Heart

3. Bump In The Night

4. Barmy Army

5. Invisible Killer

6. Believing In You

7. It’s A Mess

8. Into The Night

9. Are You Ready? (feat. Joe Stump)

10. Up To No Good

11. Party

12. Born To Raise Hell (feat. Biff Byford, Phil Campbell & Duff McKagan)

JCE, or John to his friends, was born in 1963 in the Nation’s Capital.  He grew up in the VA suburbs of D.C.  His earliest musical memories are tied to a transistor radio with a single earphone that he carried everywhere listening to AM radio. At this point he still listens to a steady diet of punk, power pop, alt country, metal (Faster Pussycat=Yes, Megadeath=No), really anything that has plenty of good guitar and drums.  Oh, and he has an ever-growing collection of about 150 vintage skateboards.