NEW TRACK: Problem Patterns – ‘Who Do We Not Save?’

The first piece of new music since their visceral 2022 anthem ‘Y.A.W‘ (Yes All Women), Belfast-based DIY punks Problem Patterns have shared their latest single ‘Who Do We Not Save?’. Released via Alcopop! Records who the band have recently signed to, the track takes aim at the incompetent Tory government and their continued attempts to privatise the NHS, and it’s bursting with the group’s trademark empathy, rage and wit.

Giving their listeners a space to release their pent up frustrations, fears and disappointments is a core value of Problem Patterns’ music, and with ‘Who Do We Not Save?’ the band have provided another cathartic aural antidote that offsets the anxiety of the uncertain times we’re currently living through. “You and I are collateral damage” vocalist Alanah Smith states in the chant-worthy chorus, over Bethany Crooks’ commanding beats, the rumbling basslines of Ciara King and the corrosive riffs of guitarist Beverley Boal, who also sings dual vocals on the track.

“Our healthcare system has been falling apart for years due to cuts, and the pandemic only sped up the process,” the band comment about the context of their new single. “We constantly see campaigns telling people to ask for help, especially in regards to mental health, but the reality is that the services we need are under too much pressure. The line ‘We’re one or two paychecks away’ refers to the fact that many of us will be in a lot of trouble if privatisation becomes reality here. The title itself is lifted verbatim from Dominic Cumming’s photo of the white board used to plan the UK government’s early response to COVID. We thought it would be fitting to use it for the single’s cover art, too.”

‘Who Do We Not Save?’ is also accompanied by a video, directed by Smith and shot on location at the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast. “I wanted the video to capture the chaotic energy of the song,” comments Smith. “I pictured the storyline as soon as we’d finished the song. In the first half, you have stressed out healthcare workers trying to save a life without the tools to be able to do so. Meanwhile, there’s a shady business deal to sell off what little is left of public healthcare, big menacing grins and all. I wanted to approach this with a bit of comedy, because if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.”

“I made the medical supplies and instruments (except the toy drums) with things like cardboard and yarn, as I wanted everything to look extremely cheap and ultimately useless. The death scene in the ambulance was inspired by the film ‘Dave Made A Maze’, where they used things like confetti and glitter in place of standard fake blood.”

Recently name-checked as Riot Grrrl legend Kathleen Hanna’s new favourite group (and as GIHE favourites since the release of their 2020 single ‘Big Shouty‘), we can’t wait for Problem Patterns to release their highly anticipated debut album on Alcopop! Records later this year.

Watch the video for ‘Who Do We Not Save?’ below.

Follow Problem Patterns on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Problem Patterns UK Live Dates 2023
15.03.23 – The Black Box, Belfast (Pink Pound)
17.03.23 – The Garage, London (w/ Fight Like Apes)
07.04.23 – Oh Yeah Music Centre, Belfast (Friday Fest w/ Axis Of, Mob Wife)
30.04.23 – Bollox, Manchester (Sound Of The Other City Festival)
15.07.23 – Ost Hafen, Berlin (My People Fest w/ FAIM, Dying For It)
22.07.23 – EBGBs, Liverpool (Crapfest w/ Crapsons, Piss Kitti)
19.08.23 – Glasgow (Core Festival)

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: Helen Love – ‘This Is My World’

After spending thirty years hidden behind a pair of shades, Welsh indie-pop legends Helen Love have released their most personal album to date. The band’s tenth LP, This Is My World is a reflective, intimate record that explores ageing, loss and front-person Helen Love’s childhood – a departure from their typically joyous odes to punkers and disco dollies.

Full disclosure: I’ve been obsessed with Helen Love for over half my life, so it feels pretty revelatory to hear such personal lyrics. ‘Seaside Town’ is a wistful take on life in a small town, while ‘Clearing Out Mum’s House’ deals with grief and the memories wrapped up in a place. 

This isn’t just Helen Love’s most open album, but it’s their most accessible too. The dizzying, “happy hardcore” beats they’re known for are turned down in favour of a punkier, more melodic and guitar-led sound. Songs like ‘Go-Kart’ are simple and stripped right down, so you can really focus on the vocal and lyrics. That said, the band prove they can still get the party started with the closing title track ‘This Is My World’ – a Pet Shop Boys-esque banger that really shines, combining an infectious ’80s-inspired groove with a poignant, introspective lyricism.

As Helen explains, “Getting older, life changes. Children grow up and leave home, loved ones pass away, friends move on. It’s easier to look back and harder to push forward…it’s not all bubblegum punk rock disco around my house anymore, but in truth, of course, it never was…”

By inviting the listener into their world with this punk-driven, powerful record, Helen Love are at their most relevant and relatable here. A fitting album for the post-lockdown era, it’s reassuring to know that even Ms Love’s life isn’t all Casio keyboards and confetti canons.


This Is My World, the upcoming album from Helen Love, is set for release on 28th January via Alcopop! Records.

Vic Conway
@thepicsofvic

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EP: Tokky Horror – ‘I Found The Answers and Now I Want More’

If you love The Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’, Tokky Horror’s latest EP I Found the Answers and Now I Want More is the exhilarating debut you need to hear. Hailing from Liverpool, London and Manchester, the virtual hardcore collective made up of Zee Davine, Ava Akira and Mollie Rush layer growling guitars with EDM. The result? A cyber goth masterpiece that hits you as hard as MDMA.

Kicking wormholes through genres, the queercore group mix rave and rock to produce a record that emulates the same intense and futuristic energy of The Matrix. This is the kind of special EP you need to listen to through both earphones to fully appreciate.

Dragging us into a new dimension is the brazen, pulse-racing opening track ‘Girlracer’, which launches listeners into punk-infused drum and bass. Lyrically tearing apart the pop culture bond between masculinity and fast cars, the song revs its engine angrily at the expulsion of women from hyper-masculine spaces, which Davine notes often includes “dance culture itself.”

The beats on ‘Simulate Me’ pulse at levels that could match a Love Honey vibrator. Laced with laser synth sounds and erotic imperatives like “touch me / love me”, the song frankly takes on the topic of virtual love and dating, particularly fitting for the pandemic restriction era we are living in. Next up is ‘Godliness’, which stands out against the others and offers a slightly mellower take on electronic rock. As Davine says, “I think we show our more expansive side on ‘Godliness’…it’s us letting our guard down a bit for something more genuine.”

With croaking, shrieking vocals and distorted heavy guitar sounds, ‘Eden on Acid’ is probably the most punk-sounding song of the EP (and my favourite track too.) It’s only one and half minutes long, yet has an edge and intensity to it that reminds me of the intro of My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Only Shallow’. Finishing with ‘Sleeper’, Tokky Horror strips the opening riff from The Beastie Boys ‘Sabotage’ and creates an exhilarating build-up to a hypnotic refrain. A strong end to an EP that shows off the trio’s instrumental momentum and individuality.

Listen to Tokky Horror’s new EP, released via Alcopop! Records, here.

Follow Tokky Horror on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Jay Mitra
@punkofcolour

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Track Of The Day: Cherym – ‘Listening To My Head’

Having received acclaim from the likes of NME, John Kennedy at Radio X and Tom Robinson on BBC 6Music, as well as recently landing themselves on Spotify’s The Punk List, Derry trio Cherym have now bounced back into our ears following previous single ‘Kisses On My Cards’ with a brand new offering.

Inspired by the Netflix series Dirty John, ‘Listening To My Head’ is a sunny, jangling slice of punk-pop. Propelled by driving beats and an uplifting, empowering energy, swirling hooks accompany luscious angst-driven honey-sweet vocals. An instantly catchy offering harking back to my favourites of the early Noughties, its vibrant, lilting refrains will stick in your ears on first listen, demanding multiple plays and frenzied dances around the living room. Of the track, the band explain:

“This is a song we wrote after Hannah watched the Netflix series Dirty John. It’s written from the point of view of Betty Broderick, wife of Dan Broderick, a successful business man who used Betty to gain his success, tormented her life, left her penniless in the divorce settlement, took full custody of their children, and abused her throughout their relationship. In the end she ended up killing him…and his lover, but that’s beside the point. This is Betty’s song…”

Oozing a wonderfully fuzzy sense of nostalgia as the tongue-in-cheek wit of the lyrical storytelling and a colourful charismatic musicality flows, ‘Listening To My Head’ is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, a clench in your fist and a spring in your step in the face of cheating men everywhere. And it has secured Cherym as a new favourite band for sure.

‘Listening To My Head’ is out now via Alcopop! Records. Catch Cherym live with labelmates (and GIHE faves) cheerbleederz throughout October. Tickets and details here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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