For those unfamiliar with Miss June, the Auckland youngsters have quickly been making a name for themselves in the New Zealand live scene over the last year, gigging alongside acts such as The Jezabels, Die!Die!Die! and Shonen Knife, as well as opening for the Foo Fighters’ stadium shows. The group have also released a string of singles that have been making waves on New Zealand radio including their latest track Matriarchy which, in true riot grrrl tradition, makes an upfront and impassioned statement on gender inequality.
Kiwi punk rock collective Miss June blast through gender inequality with their blistering riffs and no nonsense lyrics on Matriarchy. Seriously good punk.
The group came together in 2013 after Annabel Liddell (formerly of all-girl punk act Grrlfriendz), looking to recruit some musicians who could learn songs on the spot to support her for a solo performance, linked up with guitarist James Park, drummer Thomas Leggett and bassist Chris Marshall. Seeing no reason not to continue the four piece they adopted a name inspired by Brian Jonestown Massacre’s song Miss June 75, and wasted no time in heading into the studio. Within the week they had recorded their first single Clyde the Turtle. A heavy, fuzzed-out 90s garage tune, Annabel’s unaffected vocals express the feeling of being prone to messing up just about anything. The band continued their theme of social commentary on follow-up single Pixelated (so curious) in 2014, laying down some vocals and chugging 90s electric-acoustic between online and offline identities.
The band have just released the title track from their forthcoming debut EP Matriarchy. Recorded locally at Auckland’s Munki Studios, the track represents Miss June’s best work to date, capturing the energy and spontaneity of the band’s live performances in a chaotic collision of riot grrrl attitude, furiously distorted punk riffs and shoegaze guitar fuzz. The group’s experiences as a live band have unquestionably led to an evolution in dynamics with some excellent and effortless interplay between instrumentation and vocals. Annabel assumes her larger than life stage persona to make aggressively upfront statements about the disparity between male and female artists in the music industry, resisting being pigeon-holed because of gender and decrying the patriarchy while asserting female empowerment.
While they have yet to grace Aussie shores with their energetic and fast paced tunes, word from the band is that there is a tour in the works for later in the year. Miss June’s debut EP will be dropping on May 8th.
