Riot Grrl in Devizes? Steatopygous Release Demo

Featured Image: Kiesha Films

In times of pain or stress cats mimic the cry of a human baby to best attract attention. You may not like it, but if you don’t address the situation and aid the pet, you are unfortunately part of the problem. Riot Grrrl is a subcultural movement of anti-punk feminism deriving from the USA’s northwest in the nineties, which, like it or not, has found a new resting place in Devizes thanks to rising teen band Steatopygous…and with a debut demo, they’re rightfully attracting attention too.

Not Devizes you may whimper, our affluent yet insular market town steeped in tradition, where the most commonly reported crime during October this year was violence and sexual offences, more than double the second on the list, this anti-social behaviour we’ve got a bee in our bonnets about? Seems a rather apt location for youth’s screams of anger and frustration at the inequality of patriarchy to me.

Dealing with issues facing youth, our town’s newcomers, riot front-grrrl Poppy Hillier, bassist Eliza Brindle and drummer Ewan Middleton may well have facetiously named their band after an accumulation of fat on the thighs and/or bum, but their musical subjects are far from ironic or amusing. Neither are they the female answer to NRWO, with their blithe and amicable indie-pop style. This is artistically righteous, a freedom of expression, and just like the cat’s meow, you’d better take heed.

Stalwart support act at Trowbridge’s Pump, a venue dedicated to hosting the upcoming, whereby I saw them first, in June, despite our much younger reporter Flo singing their praises prior, when headlining Devizes Youth Action Group gigs. Steatopygous delivered varying themes there, such as one song on the crisis in Gaza. But the two tracks released on this demo, recorded by Kieran Moore at Komedia, concentrate on matters closer to home and traditional to the ethos of Riot Grrrl; boys taking advantage of a male-dominated world.

Cassowary, a bird with unusual reproduction behaviour which sees the male tend the egg while the female seeks other mates, is the metaphoric name for perhaps the most composed tune of the two. With archetypal driving drums and laden guitar it’s short, fiery and in your face, but perhaps not so aggressive as the other tune, Little Boy, which is a style-defining peach. Angry and unabashed, it takes no prisoners.

It is the screech of utmost exasperation, the deliverance of cries typically bottled or only released alone. And therein lies the brilliance and reason of Steatopygous, this erudite anti-sensitive artistic licence opens a matured eye to the vexations and anguish of youth, particularly identifying the uneven game of love and all its sordid undertones. Or if you fall into the category subjected and victimised by the behaviour expressed so poignantly by Steatopygous, theoretically there’s the emotive response of identifying with it and not feeling alone with your troubles.

This is thunderously original and raw, daring samaritan punk, released on Trowbridge’s cassette label Sketch Book Records, which if it honours anything, it’s this wholly DIY ethos of Riot Grrrl, and though will remain niche, is something you cannot ignore; phew, I might need a little lie down now!!

Merch at Bandcamp. Instagram. Spotify.

They support Perennial at the Pump on 7th December.

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