Petrol Girls, Cut & Stich - album review
Punk rockers Petrol Girls have released their sophomore record Cut & Stitch.
The Londoners are following up their 2016 debut Talk of Violence, and this LP has the same kind of aggy, disillusioned vibe as the previous title suggests they should.
It's full of gutteral screeching, thrashed riffs and politically and socially charged spoken word that creates a real mixture of artforms. The album's title therefore couldn't be more apt.
It's slightly messy at times. But that suits the DIY nature that spawned the scene. It works. And we're all okay with that.
Tangle Of Lives encapsulates this. The crescendo interludes, the howled messages from Ren Aldridge and clean vocals of Joe York. They mesh into one big pie of social commentary analysing the world around them.
Outspokenly feminist, they will most likely call out to any woman who feels the world has stood in their way. "Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard. But I think...UP YOURS" screams Aldridge on Big Mouth. The Sky Larkin-esque drum/guitar combo here is ferocious. When they allow themselves to let loose on some hard-hitting punk-rock instrumentals is when Petrol Girls sound best here.
The magnificent Skye is another collusion of guitars, bass and drums that will result in the convoluting of limbs in audiences all over Europe in their upcoming tour alongside fellow thinkers War On Women. Here, Aldrige holds court with her spoken word linking the choruses like a heartbroken and tired protagonist trudging one foot after the other away from yet another trying experience in life.
READ MORE: Stafford gig for Petrol Girls alongside War On Women
Weather Warning is another well-worked track, though much more agitated and distorted than those mentioned with the mirrored sounds reverberating around your eardrums in the verses. Then, the sound slams into focus for the chorus as Aldridge cries out once more for us to sit up and take note.
The scattered nature of some parts slow the record down a little. The various interludes can destroy the momentum built up by the tracks before it. But overall this is one sassy collection of music and poetry any disgruntled youngster should listen to before making their life choices.
Rating: 6/10
Petrol Girls arrive at Stafford's Redrum with War On Women on June 4
