{"id":9238,"date":"2023-02-05T15:09:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-05T15:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=9238"},"modified":"2023-05-31T15:10:24","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T14:10:24","slug":"mhaol-make-their-mark-with-a-debut-album-of-strident-feminist-post-punk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=9238","title":{"rendered":"M(h)aol make their mark with a debut album of strident feminist post-punk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ALBUM REVIEW: M(h)aol – Attachment Styles (TULLE Collective\/Rough Trade Publishing)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

M(h)aol (pronounced ‘male’) are a five-piece feminist post-punk band whose members are split between the UK and Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They’ve been going since about 2015, and have released a handful of digital-only singles, plus their physical debut, the 12in vinyl EP Gender Studies<\/em>, in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band are based between Dublin, Cork, Belfast, London, and Bristol, which might explain why it’s taken them so long to release an album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M(h)aol are R\u00f3is\u00edn Nic Ghearailt, Constance Keane, Jamie Hyland, Zo\u00eb Greenway, and Sean Nolan, and Attachment Styles<\/em> is a record about social connection, sexuality, queerness and healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The listener is invited on a journey, and it’s abrasive, raw, repetitive and, in places, downright fucking furious.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Attachment Style<\/em>s is M(h)aol’s first full-length album. Pic by Naomi Williams<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Searching for comparisons, they fall somewhere between the late ’70s post-punk of The Slits and the more modern stylings of feminist bands such as Petrol Girls and Witch Fever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their name comes from an old folk song about Grainne Mhaol, the pirate queen Grace O’ Malley, who was a popular figure in 16th century Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The album begins with the brooding Asking For It<\/em>, a song about rape culture which was released as a single in 2021, and it’s powerful stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019ve heard what they say\/About girls like me\/I\u2019m just the dumb bitch\/That left the party with you\/Was I asking for it?\/Did I ask for it?\/NO!<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n

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M(h)aol. Pic by Naomi Williams.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

M(h)aol deal head-on with issues like misogny, male violence against women, and at times it’s an uncomfortable listen – exactly what’s intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the latest single Period Sex<\/em>, a no-holds-barred portrayal of female desire, which isn’t going to get airplay any time soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s another example of the band reclaiming their sexuality on behalf of women everywhere as vocalist R\u00f3is\u00edn purrs: “I know we’ve been told it’s nasty and disgusting\/But with my hormones this high I’m feeling quite lusty.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n

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M(h)aol. Pic by Naomi Williams.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Bored Of Men<\/em> is about the patriarchy, and how women don’t feel safe at night. “Who’s that guy, who’s right behind me\/Is it a friend, or an enemy, I Just can’t see.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No One Ever Talks To Us<\/em> addresses unwanted male attraction, complaining “No one ever talks to us, unless they want to fuck<\/em>,” while Bisexual Anxiety<\/em> is about not fitting in to people’s stereotypes and expectations, before concluding: “I\u2019d love to be anything other than what I am<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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