US feminist punks and riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill had a lot to be angry about.
Punk was meant to be anti-establishment. Its DIY ethos meant anyone who wanted, could have a go. But by the early-'90s, punk was in dire need of a new manifesto, and a new revolutionary force led by, and expressly for, women.
There’s no mistaking the intent of the blood curdling screams heard on ‘Star Bellied Boy’, the throat shredding wails of ‘Speed Heart’ or leader Kathleen Hanna's repeated taunts to her abuser as she sarcastically depicts 'Pretty girls all gather round to hear your side of things' on 'Lil Red'.
The anger is audible and palpable in Kathi Wilcox's sludgy, thick bass, the primal thump and charge of Tobi Vail's drums and the menace of Billy Karren's guitar fuzz, and of course in the loud, strong, and bratty voice of Kathleen Hanna who could, in her expressed anger, sound as enraged as she was totally joyful and free.
They were hell-bent on overturning the socially imposed thinking that told them “girl = dumb, girl = bad, girl = weak” as was outlined in the Riot Grrrl Manifesto.
And even as they were rioting against the oppressive social and cultural systems that perpetuated standards of femininity, they were not above owning the reality of their own inner conflict in a tone that was unashamed and authentic on the track ‘Alien She’.
“All girls to the front, you boys, be cool for once in your lives…..Go Back, Go Back!” Hanna famously demanded at a live show.
It may have stemmed from a desire to create safe spaces for all Rebel Girls, but it also epitomises the spirit of a shared experience of sisterhood, one that includes, celebrates and elevates women, a message that surges throughout Bikini Kill's vital debut Pussy Whipped.
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