It felt like a celebration, because it was. Second act on the bill, biggest crowd and when recent studio session producer Charley Stone (Salad, Gay Dad, Linus) joins them on stage for a final song, a rewrite of the Stones’ Brown Sugar, called Don’t Call Me Sugar, the camaraderie and joy of these women illuminated the stage.

“I bet your daddy told you girls are queens and all your girlfriends were peaches and creams, well I’m no schoolgirl and I know what I like, you can do the eating just around midnight.”

They have really come together since I saw them nine months ago but at times they are still an enigma. They describe themselves as a bunch of wimmins with instruments: Jen Denitto, Cassie Fox, Mel Reardon, and Deb Van Der Geugten. Yet that belies the multi-instrumentalist nature of their gang and keeps you guessing what your favourite line-up is.

The changing and swapping of roles is now more assured and audience banter makes it all seem entirely natural. Opening song Juno showcases Mel’s voice but also her beautiful plaintive trumpet work. With Jen on drums, Cassie on bass and Deb on guitar it at times is reminiscent of moments from Brassed Off, it has great harmonies and a “Daddy pales/Mummy grunts/ Waters splash from the gash/ But she’s not coming out of her C***.”

Darling Heart is up next followed by Bye Bye with a three guitar line up (Mel on drums) that works really well. Described as a song about post structuralism it has a verse which goes: “Do you know about the Roman empire, little girl. With your sunlit curls? And Latin, where your words came from? And talking to strangers? It’s about time you learned.”

Cassie has a lovely voice with a hint of south London producing a lilt and tenderness in Bicycle, a song about Jen’s four-year-old daughter. This is a fuller sounding song as the band relax clearly enjoying the audience response.

Boy Rules features more beguiling and affectionate trumpet from Mel before Mansplaining yet again highlights all the bands’ talents, especially their vocal harmonies. Your Mum Hates Me sung by Cassie is a stand out finale with “Don’t tell me that it’s my imagination, she greets me like a rodent infestation, she’s the boss and I failed my probation, when she caught us doing mutual masturbation” bringing smiles to everyone.

The songs are really strong and with a good production the forthcoming CD will define their new unique sound in a way that appeals not only to the mind but also the body.

The Wimmins Institute do Power Lunches sounds like a joke but this is a great little basement venue and they delivered a lovely meal of music and a riot of colour to entertain the punters.

Review by Bob Oram