Rocking the system: M(h)aol on using their songs to rail against misogyny
M(h)aol have upcoming gigs in Ireland, as well as support slots with Steve Albini's band, Shellac.
The first time Irish-UK indie band M(h)aol played their song Laundries in Dublin, they felt a ripple spread through the room. “The shame of those houses/With windows of steam,” singer Róisín Nic Ghearailt intoned with chilling solemnity. “And the shame of those/Sheets that came out/ So clean”.
“There was the biggest reaction,” says Nic Ghearailt of a propulsive dirge which explores the toxic legacy of the Magdalene Laundries and the culture of misogyny of which the laundries were both symptom and a mechanism of reinforcement.
“There’s so much intergenerational trauma in Ireland. I don’t think that’s addressed or recognised. We went from being this theocratic state to a super-modern global capital in such a short period of time,” she continues. “It’s insane. Part of the reason it can seem in Ireland that there is such a repetition of patterns is because there hasn’t been a chance to heal.”
With members from Cork, Dublin and Britain, M(h)aol – pronounced “male” and inspired by “pirate queen” Gráinne Mhaol – are one of the most exciting new bands to have emerged recently. Brimming with punk guitars and gilt-edged melodies, their music veers from ugliness to beauty, catharsis to euphoria. And in their lyrics, they confront subjects as far-flung as the traumas passed down through generations in Ireland to lack of diversity within the music industry.
“We’re always trying to work with female or non-binary individuals [in the music business]. We want to change it that way,” says bassist Zoë Greenway, zooming in from her home in Kinsale. “We’re trying to engage with the system that we’re trying to change. It’s a real effort.”
“We’ve had some pushback,” nods Nic Ghearailt. “You have to be really conscientious about it. If you want change, you have to put your money where your mouth is. As a band, we are going to work with people who are under-represented in the industry whether that is because of their race or gender. You definitely have to be a bit more conscientious. But also resourceful.”
As a female majority group in the Irish music scene their experiences have been chequered, to put it mildly. They are eager to point out that things have improved and that Irish music has become more diverse. But early on they had a few ugly interactions. More than once, the negativity came from other musicians.
“It wasn’t very funny. People not thinking you know what you’re doing,” says Nic Ghearailt. “Or once they find out you’re in a relationship it’s like, ‘you’re dead to me. I’m not going to talk to you any more’. Other bands, in particular.”
“Seething and eerie” and “explosive” are some of the words used to describe their debut EP, Gender Studies, released by Tulle, a label that champions underrepresented voices. Drawing on vintage influences such as the '90s Riot Grrl scene and groups such as Bikini Kill, they are proud to be part of a continuum of feminist voices in independent rock.
And yet their songs give off a dark glow that feels quintessentially Gen Z. That ominous energy is something audiences will have a chance to experience up close when M(h)aol support alternative icon and Nirvana producer Steve Albini and his Shellac project at upcoming dates in Dublin and Limerick in April.
M(h)aol formed in 2015 but went on hiatus and its various members drifted apart (Nic Ghearailt is presently in Bristol). When they reunited for a charity gig they were taken aback by how much energy they created on stage. And by how far the music industry has progressed.
“The Dublin music scene has changed so much,” says Nic Ghearailt. “It's super-supportive. There's such a great group of women and non binary-people and gender non-conforming people. When you have that support it is easier to push the boundaries.”
M(h)aol don’t just take chances with their music. Last October’s No One Ever Talks To Us single was accompanied by a gory video that pastiched slasher movies. It features a woman dancing through the dark and then cuts to three figures in blood-smeared dresses bopping in the gloom. This was a comment on horror cinema’s fetishising of dead young women – a trope that pops up everywhere from Twin Peaks to True Detective.
“We’re playing on that. Women always being the victim,” says Greenway. “And we’re turning that around. There is a lot of feminist film theory going on in the background. Tropes and trying to subvert them.”
Social justice and pop aren’t always comfortable bedfellows and there will always be those who feel that the sort of arguments M(h)aol are making would be better served as an essay or short film. They obviously disagree. One of the reasons they chose music rather than the written word or visual arts to communicate their message, says Nic Ghearailt, was because of its capacity to deliver a short, sharp shock.
“You can listen to a song that is two or there minutes long. Watching films, or even watching TV shows or listening to podcasts or reading books, is not accessible to everyone,” she says.
“Whereas maybe if you listen to a song that really resonates with you, maybe that will be a springboard for you to be like, ‘Oh, what are they talking about?’ Or, ‘I’ve had that too’. That can encourage people to go and have those conversations.
“That is what Bikini Kill or the punk scene did for us. For me, the hope with the band is that it simultaneously comforts people because they are seeing part of their experience that they maybe haven’t seen reflected back. But it also unsettles people. and encourages them to ask questions. Particularly, uncomfortable questions.”
A debut album is on the horizon. And before that, there is a tour supporting US noise-rockers Shellac, fronted by the legendary Steve Albini.
“We’re going to be playing three dates with them,” says Nic Ghearailt. “Which is insane because Steve Albini is our drummer’s idol.” “He [Albini] sets a really good example and practices what he preaches,” adds Greenway. “He’s great.”
- The Gender Studies EP is out now. M(h)aol play Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick, April 26; and Button Factory, Dublin, April 27, 29
