KatieJane Garside is, at present, probably my favourite female singer. She was formerly a member of Daisy Chainsaw (without a doubt, the best band name ever) and QueenAdreena, both of which had a cult following. She has also released a solo album, Lullabies in a Glass Wilderness, and is currently a member of the band Ruby Throat. Not only that, but she’s dabbled in many other art forms, including graphic novels. I have yet to read any of her works, but I am definitely eager to, as I’ve heard them described as quite surreal.
KatieJane Garside has a small but rather obsessive fanbase, due to her unique style of singing and performance. She is capable of being soft and hard simultaneously. Her songs can often be aggressive, but never without a fragile air of loneliness, and neediness to them. She almost sounds like a child, or an innocent who’s been tainted and broken, and so is now left fearful and incomplete. She’s also known for her brilliantly manic theatrics and appearance; dressed in torn white dresses, with dreadlocks and flowers tangled in her hair, she’d take swigs from baby bottles, nail down doll heads and generally act as unhinged as possible.
She’s also adorably awkward in all of her interviews. Some have theorised that she may have Asperger’s or some sort of mental problems, but since not a lot is known of her personal life, it really cannot be said. I hate to assume things about people that aren’t true. She could just be a rather shy person- and as one of those myself, I don’t see what’s so wrong about that. I suppose ’tis none of our business either. And anyhaps, I’m of the belief that nobody’s truly sane to begin with. (However, it must be said that she does fit the “Mad Girl” subcategory of the Strange Girl archetype quite well.) Whatever the case, though, it cannot be denied that she is an amazing artist, in my opinion one of the greatest the world has ever known. If you’ve never listened to her before now, please rectify that as soon as you possibly can. Some of my personal favourites include: Cold Fish, Suck, FM Doll, Birdnest Hair, My Silent Undoing, Ghost Boy, Darkangel, Madraykin, I Feel Insane, Pretty Like Drugs and Under a Floorboard World, but of course, any of her stuff is worth listening to.
KatieJane Garside is a modern-day Ophelia, wild and beautiful.
