Three Cheers For Cheerleader's First Album "Bitchcraft"

I have been waiting a few years for Cheerleader to release their first full length album. During that time the ladies have been fine tuning their sound and gaining a following, so I knew it was only a matter of time before they hit the studio. What I didn't know was how much I would like the results!

Cheerleader sent over their first album Bitchcraft a few weeks ago and I have been having a love affair with the tunes. Their sound has grown up a lot and their lyrics and message have only become more powerful. If you already liked this band, you will love this album. After the first listen I felt like I could take on the world. It evoked feelings of power and woke up my riot girl roots. I reached out to Polly,  lead singer of the trio, and asked her a few questions about the band, the new album, and her thoughts on fourth generation feminism.

HID- When and where did you record the new album Bitchcraft?
Polly- "We recorded with Aaron Reinhard from Sweat. The majority of which we did in our practice space which is at my house. He has a really legit setup and there's something really cool, comfortable and organic about doing shit in your own space. We started in December and finished in March. Vocals took some time. I get sick a lot."

HID- What’s the story behind the album?
Polly- "Last year we sat down with our now manager Stephen Vincent and set ourselves some goals. Summer festivals, new equipment, proper merch and album, tour. We've been checking them all off one by one. The music on Bitchcraft doesn't really have a theme. Maybe an attitude. I guess that is our theme."

HID-What is your personal favorite song off the new album and why?
Polly- "Probably “Beauty Queen”. I wrote it when I was feeling really shitty about my body one day. I got pissed off about the many reasons people are made to feel shitty about their bodies and I just blasted out a song about it. The first few times we played it all together I would get all teary. It's still emotional, really. It feels pretty good to be able to yell at an entire crowd of people that "I'm sick of not eating just so you will accept me" and that "I am more than my body"."

HID- Why did you ask YUM and Little Animal to open the show?
Polly- "Cause they're both fucking bad ass and we like watching them. We also have Sweat and Pretty Ghouls on our Flint release show. Same reasons."

HID- Who are your three biggest musical inspirations and why?
Polly- "We all have really different taste. If I'm only representing myself... I don't know, it's hard to narrow. I saw Iggy Pop and Josh Homme last night and I died about it. Iggy is a fucking legend and I've worshiped him forever. Josh... if I could steal someone's guitar style entirely, that'd be the one. I'm obsessed with Alison Mosshart from The Kills and The Dead Weather. Most everything that really gets under my skin is kind of dark, a little (or a lot) angry and aggressive, and sexy."

HID- What local bands have you been listening to?
Polly- "Flint Eastwood's Small Victories EP was in my CD player on repeat for about 2 months until Post Pop Depression came out. Obviously the bands on the release shows, Yum, Little Animal, Pretty Ghouls and my favorite band ever - Sweat. Tunde Olaniran, Shit Fucker, Mexican Knives, and anything Jesse Waters is doing. I know I'm forgetting some."

HID- How do you personally define feminism?
Polly- "Equality. I think fourth wave needs to get the fuck off of Tumblr and recognize that one of the biggest issues we're dealing with currently is the masculinity problem in this country. Rape culture, dangerous gender roles, domestic violence, freaking out about LGBT bathroom rights. .....those all seem to stem directly from boys being fed this "boys don't cry", tough guy, "don't be a faggot-sissy-girl" bullshit from the time that they're born. People think feminists are anti-man, but the world is anti-woman. It's not healthy to suppress all notionz of emotionz, yafeel?"

HID- You are a very political band, what do you think is the most important issue facing women today?
Polly- "Lol... the Republican party. Really, though, I think I covered it above. Femininity shouldn't be considered a weakness. With that mentality we lose our reproductive rights, our bodily autonomy, we lose money and independence and respect that we deserve as humans."

HID- Do you plan to tour?
Polly- "Yes! July. New York and back. Shooting for at least a week, but I want more."

HID- Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
Polly- "Don't sleep on that Post Pop Depression album. Um. Really check out our merchandise for this album. Some of the pieces, including the limited edition cd sleeves and tape cases, are actually art. Thank you, Stephen Vincent."


The ladies will be holding an album release party at Marble Bar on Saturday, April 23rd with special guests YUM and Little Animal. Tickets for the show are  $5 in advance and they can be purchased here. The band will have copies of the new album and all sorts of new merchandise at the show, so make sure that you bring a few dollars to drop at the event!

~S