“Thematically, ‘Big Mouth’ follows on from our previous single, ‘The Sound’,” says Petrol Girls’ vocalist Ren Aldridge. “But it focuses in on voice as a physical sound that comes directly from our bodies, and also more generally as self-expression. There’s a lot of politics around who is heard and what that means, and many marginalised groups are only tolerated when they’re quiet. When they refuse this containment and control, they’re met with attempts to silence them.
Just one example of this is the defamation case which aims to silence the Solidarity Not Silencegirls – a group of women who each separately spoke out against the behaviour of a man in the music industry. Whilst the case is ongoing, we are limited in what we can say about it, but encourage everyone to spread the word and donate to the crowdfunding campaign for their legal costs. They are determined to not allow their case to set a precedent for silencing marginalised voices in the music industry and beyond. There’s no legal aid for this kind of case – they need money to pay for their legal representation in order to pursue justice. You can get a Solidarity Not Silence t-shirt, as worn by Joe in the ‘Big Mouth’ music video, here.”
‘Big Mouth’ includes a particularly pertinent sample of Poly Styrene’s voice from the iconic intro to X-Ray Spex’ ‘Oh Bondage! Up Yours!’ Her words, recorded in the late 70’s still resonate and inspire resistance today. The song also draws influence and inspiration from a series of interviews Ren did on the topic of voice with various vocalists, including Chi Chi who appears in the video, and Jacob V Joyce.
‘Big Mouth’ is taken from the upcoming album ‘Cut & Stitch’, which will be released on 24 May via Hassle Records. A companion Rough Trade Publishing ‘Edition’, written by Ren, is also available to pre-order via the band’s official store. It’s a collection of “some of the in-betweens and the afterthoughts of our latest record ‘Cut & Stitch’, from my perspective”, she says. “It’s a chance for me to think about where some of the lyrics have come from, to write in and out of them and make links between them. It’s set out as a series of mini-essays, using cutting and stitching as a way of thinking about topics such as community, building solidarity, resisting perfectionism, emotional labour, gender & craft.”
Petrol Girls will be touring extensively from the beginning of May, including in-stores at Rough Trades in the week the album is released, tours with War On Women and La Dispute, plus appearances as festivals like The Great Escape, 2000trees and Roskilde.
PETROL GIRLS ON TOUR:
MAY
02 – SBAM Fest, Wels AT
04 – Ladyfuzz Fest, Brighton UK
05 – Handmade Fest, Leicester UK
05 – 0161 Fest, Manchester UK
09 – The Great Escape Fest, Brighton UK
22 – Anti-Fest, Antwerp BE
23 – Anti-Fest, Amesfoort NL
27 – Rough Trade Instore, Nottingham
28 – Rough Trade Instore, Bristol
29 – Rough Trade Instore, London East
31 – New Cross Inn, London (w/ War on Women)
JUN
01 – Hell Hath No Fury Fest, Manchester
03 – Autonomour Space, Glasgow (w/ War on Women)
04 – Red Rum, Stafford (w/ War on Women)
05 – The Cavern, Exeter (w/ War on Women)
07 – Magasin 4, Brussels BE (w/ War on Women)
09 – Booze Cruise, Hamburg DE
10 – Bei Chez Heinz, Hannover DE (w/ War on Women)
11 – Underdogs, Prague CR (w/ War on Women)
12 – Schlachthof, Wiesbaden DE (w/ War on Women)
13 – AJZ Bahndamm, Wermelskirchen DE (w/ War on Women)
14 – Jugendhaus West, Stuttgart DE (w/ War on Women)
15 – Gibus Club, Paris FR (w/ War on Women)
16 – Le Farmer, Lyon FR (w/ War on Women)
18 – Dynamo Werk 21, Zurich CH (w/ War on Women)
19 – EKH, Vienna AT (w/ War on Women)
20 – Kapu, Linz AT (w/ War on Women)
21 – Glockenbachwerkstatt (w/ War on Women)
22 – Bollwerk 107, Moers (w/ War on Women)
28 – Trabendo – Paris, France (w/ La Dispute)
29 – Carlswerk Victoria – Cologne, Germany (w/ La Dispute)
30 – Gorilla – Manchester, United Kingdom (w/ La Dispute)
JUL
01 – Saint Luke’s – Glasgow, United Kingdom (w/ La Dispute)
02 – Electric Brixton – London, United Kingdom (w/ La Dispute)
05 – Astra – Berlin – Berlin, Germany (w/ La Dispute)
06 – Roskilde Festival
07 – Conne Island – Leipzig, Germany (w/ La Dispute)
08 – Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, Germany (w/ La Dispute)
09 – Legend Club – Milan, Italy (w/ La Dispute)
11 – 2000Trees Festival, Cheltenham UK
13 – Kliko Fest, Haarlem, NL