YAKKIE : Kill The Cop Inside Your Head
London-based DIY punk supergroup YAKKIE have been gaining momentum in the underground scene, with a string of sold out shows, and now they’ve announced they’ll be self-releasing their debut album ‘Kill The Cop Inside Your Head’.The album will be released on 13th February 2026.
Formed in 2023 and made up of Janey Starling, Maeve Westall, Laura Ankles and Robin Gatt, between them they've been in bands including: Petrol Girls, Jasmine.4.T, Dream Nails, Colour Me Wednesday, itoldyouiwouldeatyou and Personal Best.
The album opens with the title track ‘Kill The Cop Inside Your Head’, a rousing battlecry for those of us who are constantly fighting the voice in our heads telling us to succumb to despair and give up, that nothing we do matters or can make a difference. Vocalist Janey Starling explains: “The concept of the ‘cop in the head’ comes from the anti-fascist Brazilian theatre director Augusto Boal. Boal believed that theatre is a ‘rehearsal for the revolution’ and ‘the cop in the head’ is a theatre game that allows people to identify and give a voice to their internalised oppressions in order to overcome them.”
The whole album is a rallying call for marginalised genders, with songs like ‘Criticise Me’ reflecting the way men will play the victim, constantly move the goalposts in a relationship, and weaponise your feelings against you – which will feel familiar to a lot of us. Next up, ‘He Sleeps Alone’ begins with an infectious groove that carries throughout the song, lyrically scathing about men who fall into toxic masculinity and end up alone; questioning if the “male loneliness epidemic” is just a product of the patriarchy, convincing men to simultaneously hate women and femininity whilst desperately craving female attention and access to our bodies (Spoiler alert: it is).
It’s not just men who comes under attack on this album though – YAKKIE also comes for women who chuck other women under the bus to get ahead under the patriarchy and capitalism in the song ‘Lean On’, one of the heaviest songs on the album. This is the song I’d want to be in the pit for – the breakdown is perfect for headbanging to. “Who cares about sisterhood as long as you look good?” brings to mind women like Melania Trump, or Erika Kirk, who sell out other women to secure their place in right-wing organisations and garner themselves money and fame. “They call it care, we call it unpaid work” calls out how women are still expected to perform unpaid labour in order for capitalism to function; taking care of the home, children, elderly relatives and in a lot of cases their own partners.
‘Atlas’ turns the heat down to a gentle simmer for an emotive song reflecting on a breakup, and the heartache of outgrowing a relationship. There’s something universal in longing for simplicity and wishing to stay in love with someone. It’s hard to believe the raw feelings in this song were captured in one take – the whole album being recorded on reel-to-reel tape over four days, with every song recorded in one take and nothing digital used in the process! The album was recorded at the well known Middle Farm Studios in Devon with producer Peter Miles (Architects, Tesseract, Orla Gartland, Petrol Girls).
The intensity flares back to life in ‘Rabbit’s Got The Gun’ and continues into ‘Right of Reply’, the heavy riffs and drums driving both songs along. The latter is a raging letter to perpetrators of violence against marginalised genders – right to reply referring to a legal right to “Give persons a right of reply to correct factual inaccuracies in the press in specified circumstance”, speaking up for survivors who are no longer with us or who cannot defend themselves against victim-blaming. When will we feel f*cking safe?
‘Secrets’ is another slow-building song, but no less relevant for it, lyrically poignant with the melody of the guitar accompanying the soft singing before introducing the drums and bass as it surges midway through. The velocity continues through the last few songs on the album, ending on a high with a classic punk sound. “Even when up is down we’ll find a way out” – this lyric from the final track ‘Under The Pavement Is The Beach’ is a beautifully optimistic line and song from an album that tackles often heavy and political themes, reminding us that there is beauty out there if we look for it and keep fighting for it.
For those of you who are in my age bracket the vocals may remind you of Robots In Disguise, the English electropunk band from the Mighty Boosh era (If you know you know). I would also recommend YAKKIE to fans of Witch Fever looking for something a little less heavy, fans of Bad Cop Bad Cop who are looking for something more British, and fans of Lambrini Girls who want more raw, unfiltered girl power.
YAKKIE’s music can be found on all streaming services except Spotify – as the band explain on their Instagram “We’re NOT one of Spotify’s “artists to watch” for 2026 because there is an organised boycott against Spotify and as musicians we are honouring it by not having ANY of our music on that streaming platform… The decision we’ve made is one out of principle. We aren’t just a political band who sing about political issues for clout- we’re living them. We’re not going to break the boycott, not for our music to legitimize and make profits for a company that advertises for the IDF & ICE.”
YAKKIE will be touring with US-based political punks Dead Pioneers in Feb/March 2026 - more info here!
