The Pandoras represent one of the most peculiar and perhaps most unfairly forgotten episodes of American rock. The garage rock band was one of the first all-female bands to sign with a major label, but constant lineup changes and the tragic death of its original vocalist, Paula Pierce, in 1991, at just 31 years old, due to a brain aneurysm, have contributed to complicating its history.
And his artistic proposal, which emerged in the context of the eighties revival of garage and psychedelia of the 60s, was direct and effective. Songs like ‘It’s About Time’ and ‘He’s Not Far’, included on their 1984 debut, offered an explosive combination of Ramonian riffs, sixties harmonies and unleashed energy. For its part, ‘He’s All Talk’, from ‘Stop Pretending’, stood out for its delirious organ riff. You’ll see how they sound like a precedent for Hole.
The Pandoras’ releases continued at the end of the 80s on different labels linked to large companies, but the continuous changes of members caused the group’s trajectory to fragment in multiple directions: partial reunions of original members, new additions, parallel formations and changing lineups between recordings and live performances.
The band, which reunited in 2013, had Kim Shattuck – leader of The Muffs and for a time bassist of the Pixies – as the main figure of this new stage, but Shattuck died in 2019. The current line-up, made up of musicians who have entered and left The Pandoras over the years – Melanie Vammen, Karen Basset, Sheri Kaplan and Natalie Grace Sweet – is on tour reclaiming the legacy of Paula Pierce, Kim Shattuck and The Pandoras’ fundamental contribution to rock history.
The current tour of The Pandoras will pass through Spain with Escenarios Madrid by VIBRA Mahou this Friday, May 15 at Sala GRUTA77 in Madrid. The concert will begin at 9:30 p.m. and will feature AntiMums, a stylistically similar group from Vigo, as the opening act.
