Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Sell out warning! Unapologetic acerbic noise-punk to make the post-punk poser boys squirm. M(H)AOL pairs wry intersectional feminist lyricism with distorted guitars, angular basslines, jagged drums and looming vocals to pack a potent, cathartic punch. Unfuckwithable FFO: Gilla Band, Petrol Girls, The Menstrual Cramps, Dry Cleaning."
Join the Headfirst mailing list for our unbiased recommendations.
A gig held at The Louisiana on Wednesday 24th September. The event starts at 20:00.
Gravy Train presents:
M(h)aol • www.instagram.com/mhaolmusic
Irish feminist post-punk trio M(h)aol — based between Dublin, Belfast, and London — have earned acclaim for their cathartic, community-driven live shows and bold explorations of gender, queerness, and healing. Their 2023 debut Attachment Styles received praise from The Guardian, Rolling Stone UK, and Hot Press, while their earlier Gender Studies EP tackled structural oppression and won support from BBC 6Music, DIY, and more. Now signed to Merge Records, M(h)aol follow their electrifying SXSW set and latest single “Snare” — a noisy, defiant anthem against gendered expectations — with a powerful return to the UK, live in Bristol.
The rising Dublin band M(h)aol are a testament to the vitality of Ireland’s current post-punk scene. Pitchfork
“A series of fearless moments that centre on intersectional feminism and reclamation of power, underpinned by a soundtrack of clattering drums and jagged, dissonant guitars.” The Guardian ★★★★
“Delivered with innovation and imagination, Attachment Styles is vital, exhilarating, and an essential listen.” LOUDER ★★★★ ½
MALLORY HAWK • www.instagram.com/malloryhawk
Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mallory Hawk was raised in the southern military town of Fayetteville, North Carolina. A daughter of two music fanatics, Hawk’s devotion to rock music started as early as age 4 as she sat in the backseat of the car bobbing her head to grunge cassettes. Hundreds of shows and a heavy record collection later, Hawk found a home in NYC’s DIY scene. While she quietly worked on her own songs she became well-known as the bassist for many bands [Trace Mountains, M(h)aol, Customer], with Rolling Stone deeming her “a NYC indie scene long-timer” at SXSW 2024.
With an overflowing folder of demos and a newly-secured confidence, Hawk decided it was time to leave NYC and start saving money to make a record of her own. Calling on friend and producer Sam Acchione [Alex G, Girlpuppy], Hawk began tracking her solo album in Philadelphia which spans a lifetime of her influences and fuses punk, grunge, and new-wave into Hawk’s singular sound. Her debut album, set to release in 2026, features many friends and collaborators who highlight Hawk’s passion and usher her unique voice to the forefront.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
GT events • www.gravytrainbristol.co.uk
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Entry requirements: 16+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio
M(h)aol • www.instagram.com/mhaolmusic
Irish feminist post-punk trio M(h)aol — based between Dublin, Belfast, and London — have earned acclaim for their cathartic, community-driven live shows and bold explorations of gender, queerness, and healing. Their 2023 debut Attachment Styles received praise from The Guardian, Rolling Stone UK, and Hot Press, while their earlier Gender Studies EP tackled structural oppression and won support from BBC 6Music, DIY, and more. Now signed to Merge Records, M(h)aol follow their electrifying SXSW set and latest single “Snare” — a noisy, defiant anthem against gendered expectations — with a powerful return to the UK, live in Bristol.
The rising Dublin band M(h)aol are a testament to the vitality of Ireland’s current post-punk scene. Pitchfork
“A series of fearless moments that centre on intersectional feminism and reclamation of power, underpinned by a soundtrack of clattering drums and jagged, dissonant guitars.” The Guardian ★★★★
“Delivered with innovation and imagination, Attachment Styles is vital, exhilarating, and an essential listen.” LOUDER ★★★★ ½
MALLORY HAWK • www.instagram.com/malloryhawk
Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mallory Hawk was raised in the southern military town of Fayetteville, North Carolina. A daughter of two music fanatics, Hawk’s devotion to rock music started as early as age 4 as she sat in the backseat of the car bobbing her head to grunge cassettes. Hundreds of shows and a heavy record collection later, Hawk found a home in NYC’s DIY scene. While she quietly worked on her own songs she became well-known as the bassist for many bands [Trace Mountains, M(h)aol, Customer], with Rolling Stone deeming her “a NYC indie scene long-timer” at SXSW 2024.
With an overflowing folder of demos and a newly-secured confidence, Hawk decided it was time to leave NYC and start saving money to make a record of her own. Calling on friend and producer Sam Acchione [Alex G, Girlpuppy], Hawk began tracking her solo album in Philadelphia which spans a lifetime of her influences and fuses punk, grunge, and new-wave into Hawk’s singular sound. Her debut album, set to release in 2026, features many friends and collaborators who highlight Hawk’s passion and usher her unique voice to the forefront.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
GT events • www.gravytrainbristol.co.uk
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Entry requirements: 16+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio
Other alternative rock gigs
