Photo Credit: Pat Graham
Feminist punk legends Bratmobile have released the limited edition The Real Janelle & The Peel Session Record Store Day reissue in participating record stores across the US today via Kill Rock Stars. As a special treat for fans, the band has also put out this release across streaming services, marking the first time The Peel Session has ever been digitally released. Celebrate this momentous occasion with the band by thrashing to The Peel Session single “There’s No Other Way (Blur cover) / No You Don’t”.
Listen / Share: “There’s No Other Way (Blur cover) / No You Don’t”
“Both The Real Janelle and The Peel Session were recorded within a month of each other, representing a slice of Bratmobile life in the summer of ‘93, so it makes perfect sense to rerelease them together in one package,” says frontwoman Allison Wolfe. “I’m especially psyched for The Peel Session since the recording quality is so good and it’s been nearly impossible to find (I don’t even own a copy!). We also get to kind of debut a “new” song, our cover of Blur’s “No Other Way.” Blurmobile!”
Drummer Molly Meuman shares, “These records represent such a wild moment in our band’s life. From recording Janelle in our first “real” studio, to having the chance to record a Peel Session at the BBC’s historic Maida Vale studio on our first tour of the UK, it documents all of our passion for our music and our community.”
Guitarist Erin Smith reminisces, “Back in the day, there was either Blur or Oasis and you could not like both, and I was definitely always solidly in the Blur camp. Their guitarist Graham Coxon has always been a keen supporter of the underground, and a huge Kill Rock Stars fan. It was the thrill of my life when Blur’s Great Escape Tour came through DC and Graham came up behind me, singing my signature one finger, E string only version of ‘There’s No Other’ way in my ear!! He had heard the Peel Session!”
The Real Janelle & The Peel Session reissue brings together two key Bratmobile releases in one place. Side A, The Real Janelle, was originally released in 1994 as a 12" EP and CD. Kill Rock Stars reissued it digitally in 2023, and this is its first time back in physical format. Finally back in circulation, Side B, The Peel Session, exposes Bratmobile’s raw energy through a proper studio lens and includes rarely-heard versions of select songs (plus a cover song not otherwise available). Recorded for John Peel at the BBC in July 1993, these recordings haven’t seen the light of day since the EP’s original CD short run in 1994. Bratmobile’s Peel Session has been out of print ever since, passed around only on worn-out CDs and bootlegs until now.
Bratmobile’s singular brand of pointed political prowess and infectious dance punk chops have influenced generations of artists, activists and pleasure-seekers. The band played an outrageous headline performance at Mosswood Meltdown in 2023 with the aim to create joy, community and space for more of us to use our voices. Originally formed during an extreme political climate which we find ourselves in again, the band’s songs are still just as meaningful and activating decades later.
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