PETROL GIRLS - BABY
Named after the Pétroleuses, the semi-mythical group of women accused of burning down much of Paris in support of the French revolutionary government that seized power for two months in 1871, it is perhaps unsurprising that Petrol Girls make incendiary, frenzied punk. Baby is PG’s third full length effort and, whilst it is no less inflammatory than previous work, it is at times more irreverent, less preachy and, well, more fun.
After the short intro of Scraps – made up of samples from this album - Preachers and Feed My Fire are blistering punk verging on hardcore, with Ren Aldridge’svocal cadences strangely similar to those of Amy Taylor.
Given the subject matter, Baby, I Had An Abortion is an unsurprisingly heavy, almost industrial, pounder. Clowns and Violent by Design combines scratchy, post-punk with righteous hardcore fury. From a mellow opening,Unsettle builds to raging alt.rock. Ex-Dream Nailsvocalist Janey makes an appearance for Fight For Our Lives’ gloriously wild, percussive noise. One Or The Other manages to hit the middle-ground between pop-punk and hardcore. Sick & Tired features more angular, post-punk riffing along with strident vocals and lyrics. Closer Bones is, perhaps, the most immediate song on the album. Complete with a soaring chorus, it recalls the cream of early noughties emo.
Backing up Ren, new bassist Robin meshes seamlessly with guitarist Joe and drummer Zock but it ain’t perfect. Yeah, it is more fun, less hectoring than previous PG releases but a bit of light and shade, a bit of break from the intensity wouldn’t go amiss. That said, this is good ol’ cathartic fun and well worth a listen.
7/10
