M(h)aol – the UK five-piece composed of Róisín Nic Ghearailt, Constance Keane, Jamie Hyland, Zoë Greenway, and Sean Nolan – have announced their debut album. Attachment Styles lands on February 3, 2023 via TULLE Collective. Today, they’ve shared its lead single, ‘Asking for It’, alongside a video directed by Greenway. Check it out and find the album cover and tracklist below.
“I wrote it initially in 2016 then revisited it in 2020,” Ghearailt said of ‘Asking for It’ in a statement. “I was shocked by how much internalised victim blaming there was in the lyrics. I rewrote it, then we recorded it and it was released to raise money for Women’s Aid in 2021. The album version is a lot angrier than the 2021 one and almost satirical insofar as it’s highlighting how ludicrous the notion of anyone ‘asking for it’ is.”
“This has been the most difficult video I’ve made for M(h)aol to date,” Greenway commented on the visual. “There’s so much power and emotion in Róisín’s lyrics and performance, so we worked really hard to create a responsible and sensitive portrayal of this experience she’s conveying, do it justice and make people care.”
She continued: “I hope watching the video inspires compassion and empathy in people. I think it’s important to open channels of communication around sexual assault in a way that validates a victims traumatic experience and shows a path towards a more hopeful and supportive healing journey. I think empathy is paramount in trying to build a better world.”
“I think lots of media and cultural depictions of r*pe can be retraumatising,” Ghearailt added. “We wanted the video to be cathartic rather than traumatising. We both wanted to offer resources and highlight services that are available to survivors. The quotes in the video highlight the change in the song too, over the years it became a much more hopeful one.”
Attachment Styles Cover Artwork:
Attachment Styles Tracklist:
1. Asking For It
2. Bored Of Men
3. Noone Ever Talks To Us
4. Bisexual Anxiety
5. Therapy
6. Nice Guys
7. Kim Is A Punk Type Of Dog
8. Cowboy Honey
9. FEMME
10. Period Sex
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