PETROL GIRLS have always made it clear that there is a very defined and focused message in their music. For “Big Mouth”—the second track shared from the band’s forthcoming full-length, Cut & Stitch, due out May 24—that message is taking the resistance not just to the streets, but to the courts.
“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 Silence girls – 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.
👉 PUNK NEEDS FEMINISM – read our interview with PETROL GIRLS at THIS LOCATION!
“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 Trade 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.
MAY 2 | SBAM Fest, Wels AT
May 4 | Ladyfuzz Fest, Brighton UK
May 5 | Handmade Fest, Leicester UK
May 5 | 0161 Fest, Manchester UK
May 9 | The Great Escape Fest, Brighton UK
May 22 | Anti-Fest, Antwerp BE
May 23 | Anti-Fest, Amesfoort NL
May 27 | Rough Trade Instore, Nottingham
May 28 | Rough Trade Instore, Bristol
May 29 | Rough Trade Instore, London East
May 31 | New Cross Inn, London (w/ War on Women)
JUNE 1 | Hell Hath No Fury Fest, Manchester
June 3 | Autonomour Space, Glasgow (w/ War on Women)
June 4 | Red Rum, Stafford (w/ War on Women)
June 5 | The Cavern, Exeter (w/ War on Women)
June 7 | Magasin 4, Brussels BE (w/ War on Women)
June 9 | Booze Cruise, Hamburg DE
June 10 | Bei Chez Heinz, Hannover DE (w/ War on Women)
June 11 | Underdogs, Prague CR (w/ War on Women)
June 12 | Schlachthof, Wiesbaden DE (w/ War on Women)
June 13 | AJZ Bahndamm, Wermelskirchen DE (w/ War on Women)
June 14 | Jugendhaus West, Stuttgart DE (w/ War on Women)
June 15 | Gibus Club, Paris FR (w/ War on Women)
June 16 | Le Farmer, Lyon FR (w/ War on Women)
June 18 | Dynamo Werk 21, Zurich CH (w/ War on Women)
June 19 | EKH, Vienna AT (w/ War on Women)
June 20 | Kapu, Linz AT (w/ War on Women)
June 21 | Glockenbachwerkstatt, Munich DE (w/ War on Women)
June 22 | Bollwerk 107, Moers, DE (w/ War on Women)
June 28 | Trabendo, Paris, France (w/ La Dispute)
June 29 | Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, Germany (w/ La Dispute)
June 30 | Gorilla, Manchester, UK (w/ La Dispute)
JULY 1 | Saint Luke’s, Glasgow, UK (w/ La Dispute)
July 2 | Electric Brixton, London, UK (w/ La Dispute)
July 5 | Astra in Berlin, DE (w/ La Dispute)
July 7 | Conne Island, Leipzig, DE (w/ La Dispute)
July 8 | Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, DE (w/ La Dispute)
July 9 | Legend Club, Milan, IT (w/ La Dispute)
July 11 | 2000Trees Festival, Cheltenham UK
July 13 | Kliko Fest, Haarlem, NL
