Fistymuffs @ Leith Depot, Edinburgh, 28 Jul

In the lead-up to the release of their debut EP, About Time, word of Girls Rock School Edinburgh Graduates Fistymuffs has spread and the small upstairs live room at Leith Depot is busier than even the band had anticipated as Suky Goodfellow, Fistymuffs’ guitarist, welcomes the first of two support acts to the stage.

Romarzs features formidable vocalist Romana Munir and the shred metal funk stylings of Martyn Schorn. Although the pair describe themselves as synth-pop they are a genre defying mix of sci-fi sounds like Toto's soundtrack for David Lynch’s 1984 cult classic, Dune. Munir has a diva-like presence on stage, reminiscent of Madonna’s gothic persona in the music video for Frozen; her voice has a beauty and an intensity to it which borders on the operatic. Romarzs perform to a backing track which plays continuously throughout their set leaving very little time in-between each song for us to process what we're listening to.

Next on is the riotous collective Loud South Ladies who deliver a frenzied performance that rages against the patriarchy. The band invites their former keyboard player on stage to perform a song, she describes anecdotal tales of misogyny experienced during her time as a female taxi driver. The band perform a breakneck rendition of Rock Lobster by The B-52's which is a real highlight in a very heated warm-up act.

Fistymuffs are a glitter bomb attack on the patriarchy, the first chord is a call to arms that encourages women to jostle their way to the front of the stage, a space where they've been largely excluded from in the past. In the true spirit of DIY punk, they get straight to the point with hard-hitting Kathleen Hanna-inspired riot grrrl vocals and raging riffs. Halfway throught the show, Goodfellow hands out slices of cake to members of the audience and it's clear from this gesture that any victory for women in the male-dominated music industry is a victory for all women seeking to redress this gender imbalance.

When the trio play Fistymuffs Anthem, which has become a mantra for the band’s following, it fades out to chants of 'Fuck the patriarchy, we've had enough / We're Fistymuffs, we're Fistymuffs,' and we wouldn't be surprised to see more women being inspired by Fistymuffs to launch their careers through Girls Rock School Edinburgh in the future.