Label: Hassle Records
Released: 24th May 2019
Rating: ★★★★
Three years after their debut record, Petrol Girls are still ballsy as ever. On their new album ‘Cut & Stitch’, the band are as raw as they have ever been and experiment with a new range of different artistic expressions. From the start on monologue ‘Intro’, Petrol Girls’ second LP cements itself as one that has an animalistic, tribal quality at its core.
‘Cut & Stitch’ isn’t a normal hardcore record, nor is it explicitly political, instead feeling more experimental, introspective, and personal (bar the satirical kazoo rendition of ‘God Save The Queen’, which adds a needed moment of humour). ‘The Sound’ is charged and unconventional, ‘Monstrous’ is manic, and ‘Big Mouth’ consumes all in its path with a feminist rage, where high pitched shouts are contrasted with guttural vocals to a driving beat. Industrial elements trickle through too, most captivatingly on ‘Interlude (They Say)’; a sonic illustration of the cogs working in Petrol Girls’ mind.
The poetic drive is the commendable life force of ‘Cut & Stitch’. As on ‘Rootless’, the delivery of the vocals and lyrics are executed with poise, making the album feel a piece of art.
