It's no secret grunge was pretty blokey, but these women delivered some of the movement's most authentic, angry and thrilling songs
When grunge exploded out of Seattle in the late 1980s it gave us some of the rock's most powerful bands.
From grunge's grassroots beginnings, the success of heavy hitters like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam all created seismic shifts in music that echoed throughout the 90s.
One of those changes was the amount of women who would be inspired to pick up guitars and form bands in the wake of the movement.
It's no secret that grunge was pretty blokey and the number of boy bands well outnumbered the girls. But the trailblazing women of the grunge scene punched well above their weight.
Their bands played and recorded with a fearlessness and ferocity which delivered some of the grunge scene's most authentic, angry and thrilling songs.
And since vinyl was still a huge thing at the time, many of these explosive moments were delivered on exquisitely packaged, coloured vinyl 7" singles on labels like Seattle's legendary Sub Pop.
Here's five of the grunge girl band moments that started a fire:
Hole – 'Retard Girl'
Courtney Love is undoubtably one of the most famous figures from the grunge era But before she hit the headlines for her marriage to Kurt Cobain and everything that followed, Love launched her band Hole with this dark, confronting debut single.
Featuring Eric Erlandson's classic distorted sludgy guitars, Love spits out agonised lyrics about a girl bullied in the school playground. An essential touchstone for the uncompromising savage sound of early Hole.
Fun Fact: that's Babes In Toyland singer Kat Bjelland hanging upside down on the cover of the 7".
Babes In Toyland – 'Handsome And Gretel'
If you need a dose of pure vitriol, just crank up this single from of greatest and most unappreciated of the grunge girl bands.
Singer Kat Bjelland sounds like she could tear you from limb to limb, screaming and shrieking lyrics accompanied by some of the filthiest guitars and thunderous drumming to savage a song.
By the time Babes In Toyland released this on their second album Fontanelle – produced by Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth – the trio had honed their unbridled noise to make one of the most blistering and essential grunge albums.
Dickless – 'I'm A Man'
An all-female punk band with a satirical name, dishing out an angry cover of an renowned old blues song by Bo Diddly was a perfectly ironic moment in grunge.
It's almost frightening to hear singer Kelly Canary savage her vocal cords as she attacks this song like it's the last she'll ever sing.
Dickless were one of the lesser known of the Seattle bands, only releasing a handful of singles, but each one was unforgettable.
L7 – 'Shove'
Even though L7 began in LA, their uncompromising kick-arse punk, hard rock and brutally honest lyrics placed them squarely in grunge's corner.
Less sludgy than a lot of grunge bands, 'Shove' is loaded with guitar chops and take no prisoner lyrics. It sums up so much of the girl power and anger embedded in the songs of girls of grunge and the riot grrrl movement.
It's an underground feminist anthem which launched L7 as one of the era's most powerful bands and songs which made you want to scream along.
Seven Year Bitch – 'Miss Understood'
There's so much to love about Seattle punk band Seven Year Bitch. The name for a start, but throughout their time together the band were pivotal in raising awareness of violence against women.
Aligned with riot grrrl as well as Seattle's grunge scene, Seven Year Bitch's songs packed potent lyrics with awesome musicianship, killer dynamics, and tons of swagger.
Hear Karen Leng on Curated, Monday to Thursday from 2pm on Double J. Or hear the show any time online.