New Release
Brijitte West
and the Greenowskis
Former NY Loose frontwoman Brijitte West returns with a brand-new album, Brijitte West and the Greenowskis.
Recorded in Italy with an all-Italian band, notably Wilko Zanni, guitarist and singer with Italian rock institution Rats, and Lester Greenowski, Italian singer, songwriter and bassist, the album features 14 tracks, including 12 new songs, a cover of the Dead Boys, All This and More, and an acoustic version of an NY Loose deep cut, The Luckiest Girl.
Behind the Album
Brijitte West says, “A lot of people think of me as an omniscient character – I’m sort of there, but I’m not there. This new album, and particularly the single Doin’ Alright, is me saying: I’m still here, I’m still rocking. I’m still turning up the mains and breaking free from the chains that held me down.”
West first made her mark in New York’s Lower East Side, drawing on the explosive musical aesthetics of the Ramones, the Stooges and the wider New York punk scene. NY Loose developed a sound and persona that fused garage rock and punk with a glamorous edge, finding a loyal following among punk, glam and rock ’n’ roll fans that remains strong today.
Highlights of the new record include a track inspired by those early years: My Lower East Side is a vivid recollection of the gritty NY club scene, the excitement and the relentless competition between bands. Brijitte says, “There were poster wars. We would have to hit the streets at 3 a.m. because you had to be the last one to put your poster up, otherwise it would be covered over by other bands. We spent what money we had on rehearsal spaces and instruments, so I remember our shoes being held together with duct tape.”
West turns inward with Sorry I’ve Been a Stranger, a song about reconnecting with someone who once meant a great deal to her after years apart. On Don’t Hurt Yourself, she tackles the difficult subject of self-harm: “It’s a terrible illness that doesn’t get talked about enough – and one that affected someone very close to me, so it was a topic I really wanted to write a song about.”
The album closes with Nobody Won and The Luckiest Girl. Nobody Won looks back at the difficult final years of NY Loose, the tensions within the band and the brutal reality of the music business. West says, “It’s about how things were not working for us. It resulted in no one doing anything for a very long time because we were battle-scarred from everything. There was no prize.”
But for Brijitte, rock ’n’ roll will always be in her blood. Her lyrics remain a form of self-therapy and a defining strength, balancing sass and swagger with vulnerability.
Brijitte says, “In a lot of ways, I feel this is the best album I have ever made. It feels like the NY Loose album that never was, yet a seamless collaboration with the best band I have ever worked with.”
Tracklist
02
My Lower East Side
03
Sorry I've Been A Stranger
04
Some Body
05
Shoot Shoot Shoot
06
Default
07
All This And More
08
Kill Me, It's Saturday Night
09
Don't Hurt Yourself
10
O.T.T.
11
Brutta Bimba Bella
12
Looking At You
13
Nobody Won
14