Music / Feature
The Menstrual Cramps: “If you’re offended by what we say then you’re probably an asshole”
The Mestrual Cramps can be categorised as many things; DIY, rage-infuelled, punk, queer, feminist, anti-fascist, anti-racist, pro-choice and intersectional.
Formed in 2017, the band has gone through different iterations since their inception in a bedroom in Bristol.
“We kind of just accidentally started a band,” Emila, lead vocalist and lyricist of the band, tells Bristol24/7.
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Founded by Emilia and their friend Cooper who was an acoustic guitarist, the band was a reaction to what was going on their lives at the time.
“I was angry at the time, I think I was getting fired from my job and I was writing poetry and Cooper was an acoustic guitarist and suggested we’d record it and put it on SoundCloud for our friends.”
From this the band grew, with offers of gigs and the addition of more band members, including drummer AJ from Bristol punk band Kiss Me, Killer.
2019 saw the independent band go stratospheric with performances at Rebellion Festival, Shambala and Boomtown as well as support slots for Kate Nash and Amyl and The Sniffers.
“I think we checked on the spreadsheet and we did almost 70 gigs in 2019,” AJ tells us.
Alongside two fully formed albums in 2017 and 2018, it was a highly impressive roster for a band that was only two years old and one that was solely DIY.
Reminiscient of their early days, Emilia explains: “I was burning CDs on my nans laptop from 2001, printing out cards that had our band name and logo on, posting it in reused parcel packaging.
“We had to learn how to do everything ourselves; social media, recording, mixing and mastering.”
While the band have had to work hard to get to where they are, knowing all of the work that goes behind the scenes has helped them; the band now having the understanding of what it takes to get your name out there without getting scammed, particularly in such a secretive and private industry.
The Menstrual Cramps are well-known for their confronting and defiant lyrics, from nuclear waste and Hinkley Point C in Frack Off to womens autonomy and health care in their newest single Abortion.
“The majority of it is personal experience, in my past, current, things that I’m angry about,” Emilia tells us. “I don’t write poetry any more and I don’t go to therapy so this is my therapy, shouting my lyrics at gigs is such a release for me.”
The band are upfront in their music, with no use of metaphors, allusions or hidden meanings, what they say is what they mean and this can cause issues for the group.
“We get death threats all the time,” they explain. “We played Bradford in October and the venue itself received threats and the police got involved to assess whether it was going to be safe to do it.”
In the end, it was safe for the gig to go ahead and while there were no issues with it, the bands safety, and the safety of their fans, is of the upmost importance.
Does the danger they face put them off performing live?
“No! In a way we’re pissing off the right people and if we back down then they’ve won.”
Firmly rooted in punk rock, the genre has always had a reputation for being anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian, from the likes of the Ramones in the 1970s to Pussy Riot in the 2010’s, it’s a genre which is constantly challenging the status quo.
While The Menstrual Cramps’ sound and work is not revoluationary, they are adding their voices to a genre that is known for being political out of neccessity.
“We’re saying the same shit because things aren’t changing quick enough,” Emilia explains.
“Ideally we’d be out of business,” AJ chips in. “When we live in a utopia, with equal rights in a perfect world, maybe then we can release a bubblegum pop album and our only issue will be whether pineapple on pizza is a good thing.”
Despite the heavy subject matters, the band always try to make their live performances a collective and cathartic experience for everyone to enjoy.
“There are a lot of emotions, anger, sadness and trauma, but we also love playing gigs and having fun together and with our fans, it’s a fun roller coaster,” Emilia laughs.
Following the release of their singles Abortion and Body Politics last month, the band have two more releases soon to be released before they look toward a new album, working with their record label Alcopop! Records, the Oxford label they signed with at the end of 2023.
Continuing to be vocal about societal and political issues plaguing the world right now is something the band are passionate about, with new singles Class War and Antagonistic confronting some of these issues head on.
“You have to keep speaking up for things to change; if you can speak up then do it.”
The band will be performing a hometown show at Outer Town Festival on April 13. Tickets are available at https://www.gigantic.com/outer-town-festival-tickets
Main photo: Dory Valentine
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