by Ingo Donot

 

They call themselves “The Black Sheep” – Charly (Lead Vocals), Trish (Drums), Aurora (Bass guitar) and Johanna (Guitar). Well, OK...

If Wikipedia is to be believed, “Black sheep is an English language idiom (...) which describes an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within one's family”.
As if.

Powerful, fresh and extremely talented is a more accurate description of Roadrunner Records’ newly signed All-Girl-Band THE BLACK SHEEP from Cologne. The group consists of four amazing newcomers whose debut " NOT PART OF THE DEAL"( produced by peter Keller and mixed by Moritz Enders) is going to blow all those oh-so modern Emo-Rock-Pop-I-don't-know-what-bands with their cheesy hooks and plastic hairstyles out of the water.

THE BLACK SHEEP -- sisters Charly and Johanna and their friends Aurora and Trish -- have a unique sound that thrills and surprises: The group's 14 vigorous guitar tracks pack a lot of drive and at least as much pop appeal.

This lively quartet is clearly not one of those fly-by-night phenoms that sprouted overnight and will disappear as quickly. These fab four have worked on their plan of world domination by distortion since forming in 2005. Between rehearsals and shows, they mustered the energy to add a couple of songs to the score of the 2008 German film “Run for Your Life."

Listen to their compact smashes such as "GAME OVER" and "YOU CAN'T PUSH ME," and it becomes apparent that these girls are more into hard rock and metal than pop.

Their music is the perfect fit for night clubs and radio playlists, but THE BLACK SHEEP’s natural hunting ground is, of course, the stage. The band members' light up when they talk about their music and their hope of a future in the biz. They dream of touring in Japan and of being No.1 on the U.K. charts, which their combo of talent and enthusiasm may well make happen.

There's a lot on tap for these sheep who are not so black after all. And it’s right and proper that Charly, Johanna, Aurora and Trish are set to dance at parties all over the world quite soon. “NOT PART OF THE DEAL” is not just a long player for fans of energetic and somewhat driven melancholic rock, but also for those who like classic and dynamic guitar compositions.

THE BLACK SHEEP say it doesn´t matter if they play live on stage or for a studio recording, but, in the end “it’s crucial that everyone can hear how much fun we´re having performing our music and that´s what we want to pass on to our audience.” That does not really seem to be a problem.

Potential fans are waiting in every corner to embrace this fresh band of young, exuberant, talented women with a perfect mix of talent and Youtube-Myspace-Facebook spirit.

Now THE BLACK SHEEP enter the big rock circus. If the group manages to stay as light-hearted and self-proclaimed “weird” as it is today, the release of NOT PART OF THE DEAL is guaranteed to be a mega success. THE BLACK SHEEP even strengthen the foundations of this album with guest vocals by Ex-Blackmail’s Aydo Abay on “Unwritten Apology".

Who doesn't  want to listen to the radio to hear the female side of Jared Leto anyway? After all, we are just 30 seconds to Cologne!

(Ingo Donot)