Album Review: Petrol Girls – Cut & Stitch

Feminist post-hardcore quartet Petrol Girls have been giving the patriarchy a much-needed kicking since forming in 2012. This second record mixes their trademark anger with hooks much catchier than these abrasively experimental songs have any right to be. A spoken-word intro and three interludes break up this album’s frenzied screams and blistering guitars as Ren Aldridge spits out her contempt for the state of the world and the systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice within it.

Opener The Sound is a ferocious statement of intent, Monstrous is a vicious storm that rails against the pressures of external expectations, while Rootless is an almost beautiful spoken-word lament that paints a vivid picture of emotional despair. Overall, Cut & Stitch is a challenging record that puts you outside your comfort zone, but that’s the point – to make you sit up and pay attention, something the world needs to do now more than ever.

Verdict: KKKK