Kenickie's Emmy-Kate Montrose

She was the Worst Bassist in Britain, and now she's made one of the pop albums of the year

" There was definitely a time when I was the crappest bass player in Britain!" says Kenickie's Emmy-Kate (Emma to her friends) with a flush of pride. After all, she only picked up the bass by default after she agreed to join Lauren and Marie's band and found the guitars already bagsied. Since then, however, she has grown with her instrument, and found that her Precision bass makes her look rather dignified.

"I've realised that you have to be a special kind of person to play the bass, so I feel privileged. Look at Nicky Wire, or Phil Lynott: they are so cool. Someone compared me to Phil Lynott the other day, which, if not so accurate, was a pretty good compliment. I mean, technically I'm still not great, but that's not the point, really. Pop music is about the songs, the band and the moment. Kenickie is more of an extension of our friendship than an extension of our playing abilities and that's why I thiuk we're better than most male bands or most bands, full stop."

Emma may well have a point. Even when Kenickie debuted (age 18) with Come Out 2Nite back in early '96, they attacked the pop scene with staggering self-assurance and provided an intelligent take on simple guitar music. The fact that they were three-quarters female helped attract attention, but gender questions soon became an irritation.

"There aren't many predominantly female bands," says Emma, "so we stood out. Sadly, it was all people asked us about for a while and moreover, they expected us to he crap and stupid. When we first went to London, not only were we girls, but we were young and Northern, so these aspects were all pounced upon as gimmicks. It was only when our album came out that people saw beyond that."

Cynics duly silenced, Kenickie move a step closer to mass consciousness infiltration with the release of their second album. Listeners will notice the impressive musical leap from the loveable but primitive glitterpunk of debut album At The Club to the sophisticated, Spectorish pop stylings of Get In. It's vital for any band to show some kind of development, but it seems that Kenickie's learning curve is simply steeper than most.

"We knew a lot more about all aspects of making a record this time around. Plus, we could record the songs at the same time and produce a more coherent album. Honestly, if people don't think it's good, they must be daft."

(Sam Richards)
Get In is out now on EMI.

*typed up by ben hall, thank you v. much*