Fistymuffs are a Riot Grrrl/Punk Rock trio based in Edinburgh made up of Suky Goodfellow on Guitar/Vocals, Patty Vea on Bass/Vocals and Nicola Foxx on Drums. They are all graduates of the Edinburgh Girls Rock school and put out songs drawn from their own personal experiences that tackle social issues that many women still have to deal with. I’m honoured to be able to review their latest EP ‘About Time’ which was released 29th July 2018.
‘Innocent Contact’ starts off strong, with a powerful message, delivered without music or anything to detract from what she’s trying to say. And it will resonate with any woman that’s felt the objectification of the male gaze or unwanted physical contact. It was almost a shock when the music kicked in, and I remembered it was a song. It’s still really powerful, but now there’s a beat to follow and you just kind of get lost in the music, a particular favourite are the harmonising backing vocals, which at least to me supports the idea that isn’t not just one woman’s experience it’s all woman that live in a world that panders to men.
‘Coercive Control’ has a nice consistent tone that lends an extra intensity to the substantial lyrics, and it really paints a clear picture, better than just hearing it, someone spent time picking the right words, putting it to music it really hits home how real all of this is. This track also gives a real message of hope that you can get out of a bad situation, and uses a repeating line of ‘Show me your bands’ to great effect.
‘Time’ it was about this track that I noticed and really started paying attention to the music as a whole, it has an offbeat quality to it that I really like, and Fistymuffs really make it work, and back up what they are trying to say with some well put together music. Its hard though balancing what they are singing about with the melody and tune, but I think they manage it quite well.
‘Fistymuffs Anthem’ is a little harder, and faster paced, and it just kicks things up a notch. It’s fierce and doesn’t pull any punches, it’s just a real chance for the trio to let go and as a closer to their EP it does its job wonderfully.
So that’s what I thought of Fistymuffs and their latest EP ‘About Time’ which you can check out on Bandcamp. And while you’re at it make sure and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
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