Yes it’s official….Soph, Dasha, Chloe and Ruby aka R.U.B are coming to the U.K. for the first time and clearly Brighton is on their radar as they will be heading to town in the middle of April. They will be joined by the Bristolian powerhouse that are The Menstrual Cramps as well as local heavyweights Wrench who will be plying their beer fuelled sludge at breakneck speed. This sounds like it’s going to be a night that any discerning punk certainly wouldn’t want to swerve!
The famed ferocious femme punk legends hail from Melbourne and were originally flying under the banner of “B!TCH” when they formed back in 2020. Prior to lockdown they dropped a trio of singles, which afterwards were collected together as a 3-track single under the banner of ‘Demo’ in 2023. 2020 also saw them drop their ‘Bury Yourself’ tune which was recorded during lockdown in a spare bedroom.
Also in 2023 they released their 4-track ‘One Out’ EP with the lead single being ‘Better In My Head’. Last year they dropped a couple of tunes on a split EP with hardcore merchants Backhand (who contributed 5 tunes), these being ‘Good Bloke’ and 2025 single ‘Religious Man’. So far this year, R.U.B have released their ‘Unaddressed Culture’ EP, which includes their ‘Ultimate Violations’ single. Spanning hardcore, punk and grunge, ‘Unaddressed Culture’ is a five-track exploration of the femme experience in a world marked by systemic violence, ongoing war, colonisation and the enduring grip of patriarchy.
R.U.B take a sledgehammer to your expectations of how a femme, queer punk band should look, sound and feel. With a spectrum of influence from anarcho-punk legends Poison Girls to the distorted heaviness of Plasmatics and raw vulnerability of Hole, the political message is the unifying voice of the R.U.B sound, rounded out with a jagged modern edge. Check out their sound HERE.
The current lineup features Sophie Elizabeth Jest (vocals/guitar), Dasha Romanowski (guitar/backing vocals), Chloe Worley (drums), and Ruby (bass).
R.U.B are heading to Brighton on Thursday 16th April, (as part of their 9-date UK tour), where they will be playing live at The Prince Albert courtesy of Unholy Smokes and Poison Eye Promotions. But be warned! If you prefer quiet and subdued, R.U.B are here to ruin your day!
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased from HERE.
The full UK tour dates are:
Friday 3rd April – Manchester Punk Festival
Tuesday 7th April – The Quarry, Liverpool
Wednesday 8th April – Wharf Chambers, Leeds
Thursday 9th April – Tap ‘n’ Tumbler, Nottingham
Saturday 11th April – Spin The Black Circle, Worcester
Wednesday 15th April – The Cab, Newport
Thursday 16th April – The Prince Albert, Brighton
Friday 17th April – The Cavendish Arms, Stockwell, London
Saturday 18th April – New Cross Inn, London
Tickets for all R.U.B concerts can be located at linktr.ee/rub.punk
Further reading:
As this will be the first time R.U.B have played in the UK, we have yet to have seen them live. However we have previously witnessed the two support acts who are playing the forthcoming Brighton gig. Here’s an account of each of those meetings……
THE MENSTURAL CRAMPS – REVENGE, BRIGHTON 30.11.24 (Review by Peter Greenfield)
Opening for Cumgirl8 were queer punk band The Menstrual Cramps from Bristol. Singer Emilia started by asking “Are you ready Brighton?”. Without question, The Menstrual Cramps were ready. Their punk riot grrrl spirit was evident from their opening loud fast number ‘Hashtag Sad Penis’.
The band does not shy away from political issues and social injustice, which was clear from their next songs ‘Boycott The Lot’ and ‘Body Politics’. By that second track singer Emilia was already crawling across the stage and singing on her back. Their next song, ‘Mutual Masturbation’, was introduced as “a song about masturbation” and they had free contraceptives on the merch stall. It had a very good heavy bass guitar and drum running through this track.
Their strong angry political message returned for the following numbers ‘Class War’ and ‘Cull The Tories’. ‘Class War’ with its punk sound was their fastest of the set, with a call to action for everybody to join a union. For any economists reading this or listening to The Menstrual Cramps, it also reiterated the trickle-down economics of Liz Truss’s government’s budget doesn’t work. By ‘Cull The Tories’ Emilia was singing in amongst the audience.
‘Lying Cheatin’ F*cking Scumbag’ started with a few lines from Travis’s ‘Why Does It Always Rain On Me?’ before switching to the band’s punk style. Well, they couldn’t really be expected to sing the lines “You’re a lying cheating f*cking scumbag. The worst shag she’s ever had” in the style of Travis.
The guitars on their closing number ‘Idols’ had a heavy rock feel similar to Motorhead, along with Emilia’s punk vocals. This typically loud fast number was about not idolising your idols and referred to the misdemeanours and crimes of infamous stars. It was a fitting end to a very lively, energetic and entertaining set.
After the show The Menstrual Cramps were chatting with Brighton’s Pussyliquor. Now, that would be an exciting double bill.
The Menstrual Cramps:
Emilia Elfrida – vocals
AJ – drums
Zam – guitar
Abi – bass
The Menstrual Cramps setlist:
‘Hastag Sad Penis’ (from 2017 ‘We’re Not Ovaryacting’ album)
‘Boycott The Lot’ (from 2018 ‘Free Bleedin’’ album)
‘Body Politics’ (from 2024 ‘Antagonistic’ EP)
‘Mutual Masturbation’ (from 2018 ‘Free Bleedin’’ album)
‘Class War’ (from 2024 ‘Antagonistic’ EP)
‘Cull The Tories’ (from 2017 ‘We’re Not Ovaryacting’ album)
‘Abortion’ (from 2024 ‘Antagonistic’ EP)
‘Antagonistic’ (from 2024 ‘Antagonistic’ EP)
‘Lying Cheatin’ F*cking Scumbag’ (from 2017 ‘We’re Not Ovaryacting’ album)
‘Idols’ (from 2018 ‘Free Bleedin’’ album)
WRENCH – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 29.4.25 (review by Nick Linazasoro)
Kicking off this evening’s bill are a new act to me, these being Wrench which comprises Ronni Harris (vocals), Aneurin Graystock (guitar, bv’s), Daniel Lyddiat (drums) and Ryan Smith Allen (bass, bv’s). We are in their company for 28 minutes, from 8:02pm until 8:30pm and in that time they performed 7 numbers, although it actually felt like more. Wrench are a beer fueled sludge band from Brighton who formed in October last year and they give a clue as to their sound as we are informed they are “Built to last, designed to deafen”. Or as their Instagram page puts it “Blood, sweat and beers”. A free demo version of ‘The Well’ was released on Bandcamp on 8th March and that’s the limit of their releases thus far.
The take no prisoners onslaught begins with ‘Matthew Hopkins Killed My Great Great Grandma’, which can’t totally be correct as this notorious Witchfinder General died back in 1647. He was an English witch-hunter for just three years whose “career” flourished during the English Civil War and he was mainly active in East Anglia. In that time Hopkins and his colleague John Stearne sent more accused people to be hanged for witchcraft than all the other witch-hunters in England of the previous 160 years. This Wrench tune is delivered as if they are four of the accused, think Extreme Noise Terror meets death metal with a tinge of punk. Ronni’s vocals are astounding and solely keeping British–Dutch company Reckitt Benckiser in business….They manufacture Strepsils throat lozenges!
The female guttural screams and whoarrrahhhs continue with the arrival of ‘Coastin’’ which is their newest composition and is still listed as “New 1” on their setlists. The energy continues with the arrival of a trio of other tracks: ‘Dystopia’, ‘The Well’ (which we are told was “released as a download tape”) and ‘Can’t Teach An Old Dog To Grow New Bones’. It’s a palette of wobbly meaty bass sounds, accompanied by off-beat drums and cymbals, seriously distorted guitar and the severe vocal deliveries. Wrench are very much an acquired taste, but would probably go down well with the harder punk fans at Rebellion in Blackpool or even at The Pipeline in Brighton, where I believe they played their debut gig.
Ronni informs us that they are going to perform a cover, but it’s the last time they are going to play it. This is the disco hit ‘Call Me’ by Blondie. It’s barely recognizable from the original and Ronni’s vocal delivery was uniquely delivered as one line as Debbie Harry would have sung and and the following line in no holds barred Wrench screamed style. It was a novel approach and a shame that they won’t be playing it any more. Their penultimate tune was ‘Jersey Devil’ and this was trademark Wrench, however, for their final number, they wandered into proper punk territory for the interestingly titled ‘Get Wrenched (There Are 46 Different Types Of Wrench And You Can’t Use A Single One Of Them)’ – car mechanics take note! Ronni’s vocal delivery on this tune was a talkie speak delivery which reminded me of Phoebe Lunny from the Lambrini Girls. For me this was the best tune of the set and let’s just say that if you’re of a nervous disposition, then you need not attend a Wrench gig, but tonight’s punters enjoyed their performance judging by the hearty applause at the conclusion.
Wrench:
Aneurin Graystock – guitar, bv’s
Ronni Harris – vocals
Daniel Lyddiat – drums
Ryan Smith Allen – bass, bv’s
Wrench setlist:
‘Matthew Hopkins Killed My Great Great Grandma’ (unreleased)
‘Coastin’’ (a 2025 single)
‘Dystopia’ (unreleased)
‘The Well’ (a 2025 single)
‘Can’t Teach An Old Dog To Grow New Bones’ (unreleased)
‘Call Me’ (Blondie cover)
‘Jersey Devil’ (unreleased)
‘Get Wrenched (There Are 46 Different Types Of Wrench And You Can’t Use A Single One Of Them)’ (unreleased)
