“Gothics”, a time before the word goth had even taken shape, believed in the do-it-yourself punk ethos that anyone could pick up an instrument. This, alongside the bric-a-brac fashion of Adam Ant and the long-winded atmospheric malaise of Bauhaus‘ 1979 single, Bela Lugosi’s Dead, gray clouds were starting to form. And in the unlikely city of Hamburg, a brazen and haunting gang of five women formed Xmal Deutschland. Amidst the dark ruckus that coalesced at the turn of the 1980’s, these similarly-styled incendiaries began practicing in a rehearsal room that belonged to some of their boyfriends’ bands. As any true punk would, Xmal Deutschland‘s members Caro May, Rita Simon, Manuela Rickers, Fiona Sangster and Anja Huwe, started the band...