Hometown: London.
The lineup: Isabel Ehresmann, Alyusha Chagrin, Yvette Riby-Williams, Neo Joshua.
The background: Yesterday's new band kind of forced themselves on us – they had to be written about because they're going to be unavoidable, and besides, they make the sort of noise (musical and lyrical) that commands attention. The Boxettes are another outfit who intruded on our field of vision and ever so impolitely demanded we look (and listen). Then again, how could we not write about an all-girl a cappella group who combine unison singing, solo vocalising and beatboxing to such breathtaking effect?
That's "breathtaking" as in: they regularly rob audiences of their breath because, as we say, all the sounds, the beats and the "instrumentation", are provided by the four girls; and "breathtaking" as in: can you imagine how much huffing and puffing is involved in creating a song from scratch using just your voice?
Todd Rundgren and Björk know the answer to that question. With 1985's A Cappella, Rundgren made what was as far as we know the first LP on which all the songs, sounds and instruments, were made up of one person's voice, multitracked and messed around with in the studio as only rock's foremost solipsist monomaniac could. Then Björk did something similar on 2004's Medúlla, although she had beatboxers and other musicians on hand to help.
Those were audacious adventures in stereo. The Boxettes, as far as we can tell, are more about having fun onstage than making bold sonic leaps. The group formed at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2007, since when they have become favourites at festivals and performed in France and India. They comprise Isabel Ehresmann – aka "Bellatrix", the female world champion beatboxer – and three other girls capable of singing and creating various sounds and FX with their voices, including a low-end rumble that is well R&B or the type of distorted, wobbly bass you hear on grime and dubstep tracks.
We love this bit of footage of them and the way they go from giggling and gossiping to, well, creating what sounds like a well-produced piece of layered, studio-crafted R&B without pausing for breath or missing a beat. And the best part of it all is: you too can join the Boxettes! Yup, one of them left recently, and now they're taking applications through their website for a fifth member. So if you're a woman aged between 20 and 28, and able to do incredible things with your mouth, you should go for an audition. See? We bring you new bands and we find you gainful employment.
The buzz: "The diversity of the sounds and the complexity of the tracks is astonishing, and your eyes are darting between the members to try and figure out who's doing what, and how" – Cargo-London.com.
The truth: They're the best all-girl beatbox/vox combo we've heard in eons.
Most likely to: Make you gasp.
Least likely to: Give you a job if you rasp.
What to buy: Their song Free can be heard at their Myspace page or downloaded for free at their website theboxettes.co.uk. They are currently recording their debut EP for release in late April/May.
File next to: Mint Juleps, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Todd Rundgren, Shlomo.
Links: theboxettes.co.uk; myspace.com/boxettes.
Thursday's new band: Hiss Golden Messenger.
