Petrol Girls‘ latest offering Baby will be released through the London-based independent label Hassle on June 24 2022. The record sees the band turn another new corner – this time embracing irreverence.
Petrol Girls have already released a couple of tracks ahead of the album including ‘Baby, I Had An Abortion‘ as well as ‘Fight For Our Lives‘ which is available on Bandcamp to raise funds for feminist organisation Level Up. Janey Starling provides additional vocals on ‘Fight For Our Lives,’ honouring the global movement fighting against femicide and gender-based violence.
The new record showcases the four-piece taking a more playful approach, incorporating a light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek attitude which is woven into the important substance that their lyrics hold. A poppier sound shines through on Baby in comparison to previous releases, however a healthy balance of direct anger and a helping of teasing is appropriately served throughout. Pro-choice lead single ‘Baby, I Had An Abortion‘ is a prime example, where many lyrics on the pummeling track are intentionally puerile: “It was really fun to just be like, I’m gonna rhyme incubator with see you later, fuck it!” vocalist Ren Aldridge commented.
During the writing process, guitarist Joe York became interested in “minimalism and madness,” taking inspiration from everything from electronic music and hip hop to New Wave bands like Talking Heads in terms of groove, repetition and playfulness – all of which materialise on track ‘Preachers‘ particularly.
Although Aldridge went into the album with the intention of addressing burn out, femicide, abortion and police violence, the issues are handled with varying weight.
“We wanted [this album] to be less epic and less preachy from day one, I hate sanctimoniousness. Like, really fucking hate it. But I also know that I have been mega preachy, and felt very pressured to be sanctimonious, because we’ve always played in a very political punk scene. I lost my fun side, and I really needed to come back to that.”
The unceremoniously titled ‘Clowns‘ was built around a guitar riff which Aldridge describes as sounding “like the morning after Boomtown.” Full of smart wordplay, the track began with a lot of comedic placeholders riffing on ‘Stuck in the Middle With You‘ by Stealers Wheel (“We are the clowns from the left / But they ain’t joking on the right”) which ended up staying in.
‘Unsettle‘ eases you in gently before listeners are hit with a ferocious call to action, the poppier sound bursting into a more fragmented and industrial explosion. ‘Unsettle‘ acts as a catalyst of sorts, introducing the album’s peak of heaviness as ‘Fight For Our Lives‘ and ‘Violent By Design‘ sonically build upon a similar wall of noise where the topics of femicide and police brutality take centre stage.
‘Sick & Tired‘ unwinds itself instrumentally, spiralling into chaos after a barrage of uncensored truths and unrestrained cries – a vocal outpour which sounds almost teary yet the emotional thrust of its performance presents a refusal to shatter or break entirely.
‘Bones‘ wraps up the album on a more reflective note, still holding tightly onto the fighting spirit sustained throughout the record. A sweeping melody carries listeners, mixing poetic isolation with a final, fiery delivery: “Take away the noise and I am bones.”
Baby is a beast of a battle cry encompassing a strong voice for change. More than an album, this delicious slice of musical mayhem bleeding truth and amplifying the pain and anguish of those who are silenced in society deserves the limelight for its genius and witty creative direction. Petrol Girls are fuelling the new era of Punk.
TRACK LISTING:
- Scraps
- Preachers
- Feed My Fire
- Baby, I Had An Abortion
- Clowns
- Unsettle
- Fight For Our Lives (ft. Janey Starling)
- Violent By Design
- One Or The Other
- Sick & Tired
- Bones