WATCH: The Menstrual Cramps – ‘Body Politics’

I’ve been waiting a long time for new music from Bristol-based punk legends The Menstrual Cramps, and now it’s finally here! Following 2019’s Free Bleedin’, and fresh from a run of dates supporting Isle of Wight punk trio Grade 2, They’ve now shared new single ‘Body Politics‘, released via the loveliest of labels, Alcopop! Records. 

Sounding as vital as ever, with ‘Body Politics’ The Menstrual Cramps draw on American philosopher Judith Butler’s idea of gender performativity (from her book ‘Gender Trouble’), and rally against the ways in which gender constructs are forced upon us all under capitalism to benefit the patriarchal structure. Seething with their trademark ferocious energy, and building to a fierce RATM-esque climax, it’s a perfectly empowering and cathartic explosion of necessary rage. 

With their return, The Menstrual Cramps continue to deliver their utterly necessary message with an immense impassioned drive; creating a perfect balance of unifying joy and rage that has never felt more urgent.

‘Body Politics’ is accompanied by a homemade new video, capturing front person Emilia’s experiences of growing up in the early noughties, surrounded by gender stereotypes in the media. They explain:

“I wanted the video to be a kind of letter to my younger self, who didn’t have the vocabulary to express everything they felt in their messy teenage brain at the time, and had minimal queer people in the media to look up to… the music video is a loop, so the end of the music video is also the start of the music video my younger self watches when turning on the TV in the bedroom. Metaphorically, it’s letting myself become who I wanted to be, or finally being happy with who I am—being inspired by myself to relive my younger years with that expressive freedom.”

Watch it here:

‘Body Politics’ is out now via Alcopop! Records. Catch The Menstrual Cramps live tonight at Oslo, Hackney for Rock Against Violence, or next Spring on a run of UK dates – details here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Dory Valentine

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New Track: Emily Magpie – ‘Down In The Deep’

Having been supported by the likes of Nabihah Iqbal on BBC 6Music and supported bands such as This Is The Kit and Let’s Eat Grandma, Bristol based Emily Magpie has been charming us with her whimsical dream-pop soundscapes for some time, and has now announced the release of her upcoming new EP, She. A project which is both deeply personal, and highly relatable, the collection offers a moving reflection on the self; exploring our place in society whilst showcasing her distinctive alt-pop sound.

Taken from the EP, new single ‘Down In The Deep‘ reflects on Emily’s experience of being a woman with a sparkling intimacy. Flowing with whirring keys and lilting melodies, it oozes a raw heartfelt emotion, instantly immersing the listener in a captivating, stirring majesty. With Emily’s trademark hypnotic splendour, her rich crystalline vocals shimmer with a celestial allure as the track builds with an ethereal twinkling grace. A blissfully soothing soundscape.

Of the EP as a whole, Emily explains:

“I created this EP to explore my own experience of being a woman- which is beautiful and messy! I wanted to extend this out in a universal way to others, all with their own unique stories and voices. The feminine, which exists outside of gender. There’s beauty, celebration, darkness and the unknown. Feminine energy is badass and there’s a massive history of it being suppressed which it’s important to challenge by us being heard.”

She, the upcoming EP from Emily Magpie, is set for release on 7th June via Def Pressé. Pre-save here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Hannah Lisa

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Guest Blog: Nuala Honan

Having just released her latest album Doubt & Reckoning last month, Australian Bristol-based Nuala Honan has been evolving her songwriting over the years from acoustic folk artist to a grittier, more eclectic, sound, whilst losing none of her reflective lyrical storytelling.

A collection of lilting, heartfelt offerings, the new album showcases a soaring, emotion-strewn splendour and the subtle, stirring power of Honan’s rich vocals.

Following the album’s release, Nuala has reflected on the influence of water on her music, and the strong feelings it evokes in her. Read her guest blog below:

FOR A SOUL-SAVING NEW SOUND, JUST ADD WATER

When I was a kid growing up in Australia, I spent a lot of time at the beach. I had so much to love and cherish in life then, but I was also often unhappy. On walks down the beach by myself, once out of earshot, I would shout at the sea. Long, musical wailing, improvising words and melodies about my woes and teenage crushes, writing my first songs. I still shout at the sea when I get the chance.

The landscape where I grew up is big, and flat, and the sky and sea goes on forever. Something about bigness soothes my soul, keeps me grounded, and speaks to me in a way that I speak back and write songs. I honestly can’t think of anything more spiritual to me than water and music, hand in hand. Since moving to England’s South West sixteen years ago, I’ve transferred that love of the ocean to England’s cold, stretching network of rivers and lakes.

In the ’90s, the Eyre Peninsula – my dusty corner of South Australia – had no accessible live music, no DIY or riot grrrl culture, and no internet to seek it out. Gifted an acoustic guitar for my fifteenth birthday, I fell into folk and eventually country. It was satisfying and leant itself to my autobiographical musings. I ended up making a living that way, often playing alone, but after a decade I ended up in a rut. Not just creatively but physically and mentally in my work and self, so I took the step into counselling.

Very quickly my therapy revealed a desire to take a break from my music and the unsustainable DIY artist grind that I’d wound up living, and I applied to be a lifeguard at an outdoor swimming lake, an old flooded quarry in North Bristol.

The most interesting thing I’ve learned working at the lake is the power of being bored (not so bored I get distracted from the task, you are in safe hands!). But I spend hours on end without a phone or the internet, surrounded by trees and wildlife and water, listening. I process ideas for songs, and have the time to repeat and reinforce them. I feel safe to ask myself why I make music, and what I want to communicate. I sing when I think no one’s listening, and I quite literally stared across the lake at the big willow tree for months, planning the photoshoot for my album artwork.

The space and balance the lake brought to my life made room for me to consider themes from my counselling and re-examine my creativity. The track ‘How to Shame You’ from my new album is an ode to my childhood bully. I wrote it consciously, to cast off and free myself from pain I was holding onto. It marked a transition, where I cast aside my old way of writing and weaved myself outside my comfort zone. You can hear the country sound in the verses sweeping into the new belting psychedelic sound in the chorus.

People are often surprised to hear I suffer with self-doubt and anxiety; they only see the confident gig or final version of a song (the studio stage might be the only place in the world I love more than the water!). It took a lot of practice in courage to pull myself, this band, and this album together, and I learned a lot about courage from winter swimming at the lake. Lowering your body into water is totally mad. It takes a mindset of courage and acceptance to get in. The sensation of catching my breath, feeling the blood move to my core, the needles and fizzing on the surface of my skin makes me feel totally alive. Then getting out of the water is a whole other feeling. Because my body is essentially in stress response, all my senses are heightened, I feel a bit like a superhero for two minutes as I stand beside the lake!

I think it’s the same experience making music. It’s terrifying, but it’s courageous and magical and human and even though you’re afraid, you have to do it anyway, and then you feel alive, and you make something beautiful.

Massive thanks to Nuala Honan for sharing her thoughts with us!

Doubt & Reckoning is out now. Listen on Spotify.

Photo Credit: Paul Blakemore

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