Belfast feminist queercore four-piece Problem Patterns – Alanah Smith, Beverley Boal, Bethany Crooks and Ciara King – had already been playing together for a few months before their “collective fury” at a high-profile rape trial was the catalyst for them to become an actual band in 2018. “We were so full of anger and sadness and needed a positive output for those feelings,” says Smith.
With an admirable sense of collectivist fluidity, a distaste for hierarchies and a willingness to take on different roles, they have no front person, instead changing instruments from song to song. “We made a conscious decision to remove the traditional format of having a front person, as we wanted everyone to have a voice.” Their music recalls the ferocity of Bikini Kill, and their potent sound has drawn praise from Kathleen Hanna herself (leading to an invite to support Le Tigre earlier this year) and Henry Rollins.
