Okay, you’ve got to know these ladies by now. If you didn’t read Trent Moorman’s interview with super cool punk group Childbirth, then you’ve spotted at least one of their bands playing around town: Bree McKenna is part of Tacocat, Stacy Peck drums in Pony Time, and Julia Shapiro is in (Genius nominated) Chastity Belt. Anyway, start getting acquainted if you haven’t already. Their new single, “Nasty Grrls,” premiered on NPR this morning and it’s fucking good.
This is the anthem for every woman who has ever felt embarrassed about her period (i.e., all of us, at one point or another). Shapiro’s vocals puncture every image of the stripped clean, polished and waxed, proper pin-up that anyone with a vagina has to confront. McKenna and Peck shout back in call-and-response throughout the entire track, declaring their refusal to clean under their fingernails, wash their bras, or take a damn bath. (Also, it’s not good to wash your hair every day.)
When I talked to McKenna this afternoon, I asked her how the song came about. She told me, “Basically, we just wanted to do a song that is about Nasty Girls, but not the sexy kind. We wrote it when we all had colds at practice, and kept blowing our noses, and were all super disgusting. It, very naturally, became an ode to our grossness.” I also asked her if there was anything she wouldn’t dip in ranch, and she said nothing came to mind.
So there you have it. Childbirth might be laughing with salad, but they want you to know you’re not alone.
Their record Women’s Rights will be out on October 2 via Suicide Squeeze.