More than three decades after their last project, feminist punk trailblazers heavens to betsy are opening the vault. The duo of Corin Tucker, later of Sleater-Kinney, and drummer Tracy Sawyer will release ‘baby’s gone’ on October 16 via Kill Rock Stars, their first project since 1994.
The 16-track collection reaches right back to the beginning. At its heart is a previously unheard demo tape recorded in February 1992 by Bratmobile’s Molly Neuman, alongside recordings from 1993’s ‘These Monsters Are Real’ and 1994’s ‘Direction’. The demos survived more than three decades on cassette before being rediscovered and digitised.
Newly released track ‘my secret’ shows exactly why this material still bites. Driven by Sawyer’s pounding drums and an abrasive stop-start attack, Tucker confronts the aftermath of sexual assault with the directness that made heavens to betsy such an important voice in the riot grrrl era. It follows the first taste of the collection, ‘ain’t never goin’ back’.
The timing of their return feels particularly pointed. Heavens to betsy wrote about rape culture, body shaming, queerness, female friendship and community at a time when young women creating loud, confrontational music were still routinely treated as outsiders. More than 30 years later, much of what fuelled those songs remains stubbornly familiar.
The band reunited onstage this summer for their first concert in more than 30 years and will follow ‘baby’s gone’ with an extensive North American tour through October and November. For a band whose original life was relatively brief, heavens to betsy left a sizeable footprint. Now a piece of their earliest history is finally getting heard.
Tour Dates – TICKETS
10/16: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
(with Tuffie, Scrunchies)
10/17: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
(with Street Eaters, The Lilies)
10/18: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
(with For Horses, Cut-Rate Druggist)
10/24: Olympia, WA @ Capitol Theater *Girl Night Part 2*
(with Calamity Jane, the Softies, Grrrizzly, DJ Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile)
10/28: Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
(Team Dresch Album Release Show)
10/30: Washington, DC @ Black Cat
(with Calamity Jane)
10/31: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
(with Calamity Jane)
11/1: Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
(with Calamity Jane)
11/5: Seattle, WA @ Nuemos
11/8: Pasadena, CA @ Sid the Cat Auditorium
11/14: Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle – SOLD OUT
11/15: Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
11/21: Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
11/22: Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
1 comment
It’s great to see Heavens to Betsy back after so many years. I really like the idea of old recordings being found and finally shared with fans. Their story and music still feel meaningful, and this new release sounds like a special way to revisit that part of their history.