Fistymuffs – About Time EP (Premiere & Track-by-Track)

Edinburgh punk trio Fistymuffs are here to 'fuck the patriarchy,' and talk us through their debut EP, About Time

Feature by Tallah Brash | 27 Jul 2018

'And who the fuck do you think you are / Talking to me like I'm worthless / Looking at me like I'm taking up your space / Rolling your eyes as I talk, not a hint of subtlety.'

Edinburgh punks Fistymuffs are here and they fucking mean business. The opening monologue of their debut EP, About Time, is a hard-hitting all too familiar tale of inappropriate advances from men who think they can do whatever the fuck they want. It's an ear-opener from the off, sucking you into the trio's riot grrrl world. Influenced by the likes of X-Ray Spex and Bikini Kill, Fistymuffs have something important to say and it's all over their high energy, emotionally raw and liberating debut.

Graduates of Girls Rock School Edinburgh, Fistymuff's Patty Vea (vocals and bass), Suky Goodfellow (guitar and vocals) and Nicola Foxx (drums) talk us through About Time track-by-track; "we like to keep a little bit of privacy around who wrote what song," Vea tells us via email, so please respect that when reading their collective descriptions below.

Innocent Contact
"You know the guys who put their hands on your hips to move you out the way? The ones who think it's ok to hug you uncomfortably tightly a few minutes after they first meet you. The ones who stand too close, breathing right in your eyes like you asked for it. The ones who grab your arse or slap it like you gave them permission. That's who the song is about. Fuck those guys."

Coercive Control
"This song is based on a Twitter hashtag #hedoesnthityoubut which saw women using their real-life stories to highlight the impact of this kind of abuse. It's the song people cry at, which might sound bad but it means we are reaching them, possibly helping them process their own pain like it helped us process ours. For us that makes it one of our most important songs."

Time
"This is the song on the EP that we wrote most recently and it’s musically the most fun to play. We wanted to keep it upbeat to contrast with the dark lyrics. The verses tell of escaping an abusive relationship: 'When you grab my arm / The dread holds tight.' Meanwhile, the lyrics of the chorus are sparse, giving you time to process. Nikki’s drum part can be heard clearly in the chorus like the insistent ticking of a clock."

Fistymuffs Anthem
"We set out to write an anthem from the start. We were all on the same page about who we were and what kind of band we wanted to be, so it wasn’t hard to agree on the lyrics. This is a feminist anthem that calls out the bullshit of gender stereotypes. We wrote it to resonate with women – trans and cis alike – but we love to play it live and see people of all genders moshing and singing along."

The Skinny are delighted to be premiering About Time in the SoundCloud player below. If it's not displaying properly, click here. Beware though, as we guarantee you'll be singing 'Fuck the patriarchy, we've had enough / We're Fistymuffs, we're Fistymuffs' long into next year...


About Time is released on 28 Jul; Fistymuffs play Leith Depot, Edinburgh, 28 Jul

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