Since their inception just over a year ago, The Sexual Side Effects have been on fire. They’ve not only headlined one of Atlanta’s biggest street festivals, the East Atlanta Strut, but they’ve also sold out numerous club shows, staged their own highly successful “Gilded Trash” variety shows at the Masquerade and recently had their first music video for “All She’ll Ever Hurt” screened at the Atlanta Film Festival. As a result of all this success, the band has also been nominated for Best Alternative Band in the 2012 Georgia Music Awards. Having already set Atlanta ablaze, that fire recently spread up and down the East Coast in a tour that concluded with an attention-grabbing performance at one of New York City’s most celebrated venues, The Bitter End.
Combining elements of Britpop and post-punk with the androgynous mystery of ‘70s glam rock, the band’s jangly guitars often drift into psychedelic space realms. And the band often adds some sideshow-like spectacle to its performances with a companion art show, guest musicians, go-go dancers, body painters, burlesque dancers, fire performers and other theatrics, all helmed by Taylor’s ringleader-like antics.
Drawing comparisons to Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde, front girl Amber Taylor knows how to work a crowd, with an aura that reverberates on and off stage. Her electric charisma and haunting voice command attention while her epileptic guitar work leaves audiences gasping for breath. Guitarist Matt Foster adds complex textures and edgy solos while bassist Mike Sidner and drummer Clay McClure lay down solid, yet understated, grooves.
The band burst into 2012 with its debut EP High Maintenance, available as a free download on the band’s website www.thesexualsideeffects.com. With more tour dates and other big plans in 2012, The Sexual Side Effects infection is definitely spreading.
This article was originally published in Transformation 79 May 2012
