Track Of The Day: Petrol Girls – ‘Baby, I Had An Abortion’

Having received acclaim from the likes of Kerrang!, The New York Times and BBC 6Music, for pertinent, powerful offerings such as ‘Touch Me Again’ and ‘No Love For A Nation’, GIHE faves Petrol Girls have now shared a colossal new single.

Highlighting the truth that everyone should have access to an abortion, without shame, ‘Baby, I Had An Abortion‘ oozes a brutal, unapologetic honesty, propelled by the gritty, seething force of Ren Aldridge’s vocals. A no holds barred attack on the pressures on those with a womb to procreate, and the shame they are made to feel for terminating unwanted pregnancies, the track races with a swirling, frenzied energy as the fiercely impassioned refrains of “Shame Shame Shame!” and “Baby, I had an aborition and I’M NOT SORRY!” blast out with a commanding sense of urgency.

An immense, empowering statement reflecting on Aldridge’s own experiences of having an abortion in 2018 (having found out she was pregnant the morning that the Eighth Amendment was repealed in Ireland), ‘Baby, I Had An Abortion’ offers a poignant ode to bodily autonomy. A raging cacophony fuelled by a riotous catharsis that emits both joy and anger; urging us to fight against the confines of this damaging patriarchal society and heinous pro-life laws, whilst also recognising that abortions – although often traumatic – can come with a sense of relief and happiness, and our access to them is something to be celebrated.

Of the track, Aldridge explains:

“(‘Baby, I Had Abortion’) is first and foremost intended for upsetting pro-lifers on demonstrations. The ‘Shame Shame Shame’ lyric is totally a Game of Thrones reference, and the whole idea is intended to ridicule pro-lifers’ attempts to shame us for exercising our bodily autonomy. I wanted the song to have party vibes because I feel like abortion… can be something to celebrate. I wanted to put something joyful about abortion out into the world.“

Petrol Girls will be raising money for Abortion Without Borders with this release. They’re a network of organisations that fund and support people in Poland to access abortion in neighbouring countries or at home with pills. Abortion laws were further tightened in Poland last year making it only legal in extremely limited circumstances.

Catch the incredible force of Petrol Girls live on their run of UK dates next month. Tickets and info here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Martyna Wisniewska

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LISTEN: Petrol Girls – ‘I Believe Them’ (Solidarity Not Silence)

A raucous anthem with a defiant and empowering message, Petrol Girls have shared their latest single ‘I Believe Them’. The uncompromising track has been released to raise funds for Solidarity Not Silence, who are a group of women fighting a claim of defamation made against them by a well-known musician. You can download ‘I Believe Them’ exclusively from bandcamp today to support their cause.

GIHE stands in solidarity with the women affected by the Solidarity Not Silence case. Read the powerful statement Ren from Petrol Girls has made about the track below, and scroll down to the end of this post to watch the accompanying video. #IBelieveThem

“We’re releasing this track to raise as much money as we possibly can for Solidarity Not Silence and to widen the network of people supporting the cause. Solidarity Not Silence is the legal defence fund for a group of women, including myself, who are being sued for defamation by a man in the music industry because of comments that we each made separately regarding his behaviour towards women. We’ve been fighting this case since December 2016 and desperately need help raising money for our legal costs. The only reason we’ve been able to successfully fight this case as long as we have is because we were able to come together and fundraise for our legal defence. Help us keep our legal representation all the way to court and win this!

“As one of the Solidarity Not Silence defendants, I’m limited in what I can say about the case whilst it’s ongoing. However, there’s nothing to stop me contributing to a wider conversation about sexual violence and the law – which is what this track, ‘I Believe Them’ is about.

“’How are we meant to protect ourselves?’ I find myself internally screaming this question, which is the chorus lyric, on a pretty regular basis. On the one hand, the criminal justice system consistently fails and often further traumatises survivors of sexual violence who decide to report to the police. This system clearly does not protect the majority of survivors and I personally do not believe it holds any answers in dealing with gender based violence. Then on the other hand, when survivors and their allies try to protect one another by speaking out about abusive behaviour, they become vulnerable to libel/ defamation law. And in both criminal and libel cases, the burden of truth is placed on the survivor. Literally what does the law expect us to do?

“There is, in practice, no legal aid available for the defence of a defamation case, which creates a dynamic whereby it is relatively easy for someone with money to silence those without. Money should not be a barrier to accessing justice and we refuse to allow our case to set a precedent for silencing marginalised voices in the music community and beyond. Please donate to/share our crowdfunder.”

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Petrol Girls – ‘Monstrous’

​”This is not all of me / I choose the parts you see” reveals Petrol Girls‘ vocalist Ren Aldridge in the opening lyrics to the band’s latest track, ‘Monstrous’. Stretched over visceral riffs and piston-like percussion, Ren’s lyrics compliment the single’s accompanying video (filmed by Martyna Wisniewska), which shows Ren and her band mates sharing intimate moments both on, and off stage during their tours with Refused, Thrice and La Dispute.

Ren articulately explains the feelings that inspired ‘Monstrous’: “(The track) is about feeling mined and drained and too much and not enough and, ultimately, monstrous. It’s also about how I sometimes feel on stage or on social media. Sometimes I find fronting a feminist band too much pressure from too many different directions.” Whilst Ren’s insecurities are laid bare here, with the band’s cathartic backdrop of noisy guitar and knockout drumming, ‘Monstrous’ feels like a lesson in spine-strengthening self awareness.

Petrol Girls are currently on their UK tour, and are set to headline Oslo in Hackney tonight (16th Jan – event details here). The band will then head to Scotland and Ireland later this month, before heading off to play European shows in February. They’ll also be visiting North America for the first time, where they’ll be playing SXSW and New Colossus later this year. 2020 looks set to be another successful year for these feminist punks.

Watch the video for ‘Monstrous’ below and follow Petrol Girls on Facebook for more updates.

Petrol Girls UK & Ireland Tour Dates 2020
Jan 16: LONDON @ Oslo
Jan 17: NOTTINGHAM @ The Bodega
Jan 18: MANCHESTER @ The Deaf Institute
Jan 19: GLASGOW @ Nice & Sleazy
Jan 21: BELFAST @ McHughs
Jan 22: DUBLIN @ Whelan’s
Jan 23: LIMERICK @ Kasbah Social Club​

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Petrol Girls – ‘No Love For A Nation’

Fueled by embarrassment over Brexit and frustration about how geographical borders hold us back; formidable activists and GIHE favourites Petrol Girls have been busy dismantling the fabric of the state in the video for their latest single, ‘No Love For A Nation’. It’s an anti-nationalist anthem designed to unite and fortify individuals, regardless of what country they were born in.

“Swap them, switch them, patch and stitch them” sings vocalist Ren Aldridge over visuals of her bandmates and their allies cutting and re-stitching world flags in to a new “rag” that forms the backdrop for the band’s live show. The track is lifted from the band’s recent album, Cut and Stitch, whose name was inspired by the ideas explored in the new song.

Ren articulates the motivations behind the new music video more poignantly than we ever could:

“This video is a collaboration between myself and the incredibly talented Martyna Wisniewska. The video is a manifestation of an art project I’ve been doing for ages, cutting and stitching national flags…

We shot this video on the way from Austria to the UK for our September tour, via Germany and France. Zock had the idea of hiring radical spaces to shoot the video in. DIY social centres and a radical bookshop – these are places in which radical organising takes place, where information can be disseminated and our community can gather. We filmed at Sub in Graz, Kafe Marat in Munich, Villa Bellevillein Paris and Freedom Bookshop in London.

It was in these kinds of spaces that I first encountered the slogan ‘NO LOVE FOR A NATION’ in the form of stickers, banners and graffiti, and it has informed my politics ever since. I’ve found that many people are quick to make accusations of naivety against those of us that question the nation state, but I would argue that it’s far more naive (not to mention heartless) to think we can continue organising human society in the way that we do.

Nations create borders and borders create violences like detention, deportation and the denial of safe passage. It is a bizarre and often cruel way of organising societies on the basis of where people happen to have been born. It is those on the fringes of these definitions that suffer their harshest consequences – refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. It is not acceptable that 18,000 people have lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea since 2014, because they were denied safe passage on the basis of their nationality.

Simultaneously, populist nationalism takes aim at these people, and uses them as a scapegoat for the failings of capitalism and neoliberalism. If history has taught us anything, it’s that we must resist the rise of populist nationalism that is sweeping the planet.

We stand in opposition to Fortress Europe but mourn Brexit as the result of populist nationalist politics and a xenophobic, dishonest and, at times, overtly racist campaign. We are not proud of Britain – we are embarrassed. Above all we are angered by the rise in racism and xenophobia since the Brexit result. We are deeply troubled and angered by the way in which populist nationalism has emboldened racists and fascists across the world.

At its core, the Nation State is just an idea – a notion – something that exists in our collective imagination and is consolidated through culture – through monuments and museums, through football and flags.

This song, video and art project aim to question and contribute to destabilising the idea of nations. Can we collectively imagine ourselves in a different way? The nation rose from the decline of the monarchy – what will rise from the decline of nations? Can’t we find better and more inclusive ways of collectively understanding ourselves?

The video also celebrates the punk community, which stretches across borders and nations, and has inclusive and anti-authority politics at its core. I feel like this community offers us a glimpse of what might be possible.”

Watch the video for Petrol Girls’ ‘No Love For A Nation’ below and follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

Petrol Girls 2019/2020 Headline Tour Dates
November 20th: KIEL (DE), Altemeierei
November 21st: HANNOVER (DE), UJZ Korn
November 22nd: BREMEN (DE), Die Friese
January 14th: NEWPORT (UK), Le Pub
January 15th: BRIGHTON (UK), Green Door Store
January 16th: LONDON (UK), Oslo
January 17th: NOTTINGHAM (UK), Bodega
January 18th: MANCHESTER (UK), The Deaf Institute
January 19th: GLASGOW (UK), Nice & Sleazy
January 21st: BELFAST (UK), McHughs
January 22nd: DUBLIN (IRL), Whelan’s
January 23rd: LIMERICK (IRL), Kasbah Social Club

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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