After years and years of sharing protest bangers, Pussy Riot’s first full-length project is finally on the horizon. The Russian pop group/art collective have announced today that their debut mixtape MATRIARCHY NOW will be released on August 5th on Neon Gold Records, and as a preview, they’ve shared its lead single “PLASTIC” featuring ILOVEMAKONNEN.
MATRIARCHY NOW includes a handful of collaborators, including Slayyyter, Big Freedia, and Tove Lo, the latter of whom also executive produced the project. Its release date comes just ahead of the 10-year “anniversary” of when three Pussy Riot members were found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” and spent two years in jail for protesting Russian president Vladimir Putin.
On “PLASTIC,” Pussy Riot parody society’s unrealistic expectations for women to be demure, reticent, and submissive at all times: “I don’t shit, I don’t eat/ I don’t even fucking breathe/ If you cut me, I don’t bleed/ You’re the only thing I need,” the band’s ringleader Nadya Tolokonnikova raps over a bouncy pop beat.
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In the surreal, Haley Bowman-directed music video for “PLASTIC,” Pussy Riot are miniature versions of themselves dressed in frilly lingerie, waiting to be deformed and dismembered by a young boy — think an R-rated version of Sid’s bedroom in Toy Story. Listen to “PLASTIC,” and see the tracklist and album art for MATRIARCHY NOW, below.
Unbeknownst to us at the time, Pussy Riot hinted at their mixtape’s title last month when they crashed the Texas Capitol carrying a huge banner reading “Matriarchy now!” to protest the state’s anti-abortion legislation. Meanwhile, Tolokonnikova has been selling NFTs to benefit Ukrainian refugees. Pussy Riot will also be playing at a handful of North American festivals this year, including Life Is Beautiful and Outside Lands.
MATRIARCHY NOW Artwork:
MATRIARCHY NOW Tracklist:
01. PRINCESS CHARMING (feat. Salem Ilese)
02. PUNISH
03. PLASTIC (feat. ILOVEMAKONNEN)
04. HORNY (feat. Phoebe Ryan)
05. SUGARMOMMY (feat. mazie)
06. HATEFUCK (feat. Slayyyter)
07. POOF BITCH (feat. Big Freedia)
