It’s a strange world when it takes a music blog from the other side of the Atlantic to help you discover a band practically on your doorstep. But so it is in 2016 and that’s exactly how I found the excellent debut album of Muncie Girls. From Caplan to Belsize is a collection of expertly constructed pop punk numbers. In these oversaturated times, a hook and three chords is all well and good but what really sets Muncie Girls above their peers is lead singer Lande Hekt’s lyrics. She touches on subject matters both broad and societal, such as patriarchy, but also the achingly acute and specific, like personal relationships.

Beforehand we’re treated to indie-punk trio Doe. They have renounced a bass in favour of two guitars but manage to not sacrifice any groove. The saw-toothed and jagged guitar tones makes an emotive racket, their abrasive noise offset by a certain sensitivity and emotional vulnerability. “Do you want to hear a new one or a heavy one?” lead singer Nicola asks to the crowd towards the end of the set. It’s a resounding response for the heavy one, but we get the new one anyway, because it’s their show after all. Turns out the new one is rather noisy as it is, which leaves you wondering just how loud the heavy one would have been.

Muncie Girls open with ‘Respect’, vocalist and bassist Hekt challenging about how “It’s so easy to pretend this doesn’t happen in out society” in reference to the destructive effect things such as misogyny can have on a young woman’s confidence. Not to give the impression a 'Muncie Girls’ music is purely a lecture on feminism. Their songs also touch on the trials and tribulations of youth. ‘Gone With the Wind’ describes spending the duration of a party under a table and refusing to come out. While ‘Balloon’ has an absolute killer chorus made bittersweet by its lyrics, describing someone close to the narrator unable to face their problems. Already I can see people singing along, a rare sight for a band of this size and with their debut still merely days old. Friends grin and sing the lyrics into each other’s face, while others shout along with hands aloft. Muncie Girls feel like one of those bands that if you discovered at the right time, they could really make an impact on your sense of self and world-view. In fact I’m a bit jealous that I don’t get to be one of them.

‘Learn in School’ contains the rallying cry “There are so many of us and there are so few of them” almost echoing Percey Shelly’s radical rallying cry at end of ‘The Masque of Anarchy’. Probably not accidental considering the number of literary references that litter the band’s songs. It speaks against the systems of oppression Muncie Girls – and to be honest any punk music worth its salt – is railing against, but also the sense of connection, intimacy and community a punk gig like this one can produce.

This is why Muncie Girls' gig, despite some of the heavy topics they approach, feels like such an uplifting, heart-warming experience. Yeah, patriarchy and racism and arseholes exist. But so does friendship, love and music. A guitar band can still mean something, isn’t that a relief?
Louis Ormesher