ALBUM REVIEW: YAKKIE – Kill The Cop Inside Your Head (self-released)
YAKKIE are a London-based DIY punk ‘supergroup’ who formed a couple of years ago and Kill The Cop Inside Your Head is their debut album.
They’re led by veteran feminist activist Janey Starling, founding frontwoman of Dream Nails, who took a break from music to focus on full-time anti-prisons work but is now back with a vengeance.
She’s joined by Robin Gatt (previously of Personal Best /Petrol Girls), on guitar, Laura Ankles ( Colour Me Wednesday) on bass and Maeve Westall (Jasmine.4.T/Itoldyouiwouldeatyou) on drums.
The album was recorded on reel-to-reel tape in four days, with every track done live in one take, and it’s a rollercoaster of powerful takedowns, motivational messages, feminist fury and softer moments.
It kicks off with the angular title track and lead single, Kill The Cop Inside Your Head. A rousing rallying cry, it’s not a direct call to action against the forces of law and order, but, says Starling, “a song against self-defeat”.
Criticise Me is a poppier song about emotional abuse which could be from Dream Nails’ sassy first album (reviewed here), followed by “anti-fuckboy anthem” He Sleeps Alone. Also released as a single, it takes down the sort of alpha males who judge success by their body image, wealth, power and trophy wives.
Lean Out is a more reflective song about women’s role in society as carers, whether it’s as wives/partners and mothers or looking after someone’s else’s family.
There’s a complete change of pace with Atlas, which starts as a gentle acoustic song about falling out of love with someone. It’s turned on its head two-thirds of the way through, ending as a grungy melange.
There’s another punk rock rager in Rabbit’s Got The Gun, about women fighting back, and then perhaps the standout track on the whole record, Right Of Reply, which tackles domestic abuse, with Starling screaming: “When will we feel fucking safe?”
Secrets is a slower number about trauma’s lasting effect on victims, while Take It All is a warning shot from someone who has been wronged that revenge will be sweet.
The album ends with its longest track, the near-five minute Under The Pavement Is The Beach, which offers hope in times of political upheaval and corruption. It’s message is a positive one, as Starling sings: “Even when up is down we’ll find a way out.”
Kill The Cop Inside Your Head is a well-paced album, with punk rock ragers back-to-back with more contemplative moments, and sugar-sweet vocals balanced by fuzzy guitars and pounding drums. As a first taste of YAKKIE are all about, this’ll do nicely. 8/10.
- Kill The Cop Inside Your Head is available on vinyl, CD and digitally from YAKKIE’s Bandcamp page HERE. It’ll also be on the merch table when they tour with US-based political punks Dead Pioneers in February and March.
