Album Review: YAKKIE - 'Kill The Cop Inside Your Head'
DIY Supergroup YAKKIE make a statement piece with their brand-new album; explosive and anti-Spotify, it arrives with a real kick to the head. The heirs – and the inspiration - to Amyl and the Sniffers and Lambrini Girls have arrived. Maybe the most important punk release of the year.
It takes a lot of traction for a band to release a statement piece about why they shouldn’t stream on Spotify and yet still raise eyeballs when their band is hard to find, but YAKKIE are a band that are doing the right thing by deplatforming the ICE-promoting institution and taking centre-stage with a tour-de-force of a debut record that shakes the very foundation of the music scene. To all the bands that haven’t dropped their album this way yet; what are you doing? YAKKIE are taking more risks than bands with ten albums or more out – this is the fearless, catchy, upbeat punk that the genre needs right now.
We open with Kill the Cop Inside Your Head, unflinchingly bold and an ode to political statements that the world needs more of, it’s easy to see why it earned the attention of the likes of Tom Morello. It’s brash, abrasive, “kill! The cop inside your head, don’t listen to what he said,” encourages the decolonisation of our minds and the rejection of anti-enforcement-ingrained thinking. Frontwoman Janey Starling, veteran of Dream Nails, enlists Petrol Girls’ bassist for a ferocious supergroup that really captures the essence of what the band is going for. It’s titanic – Smashing Pumpkins-influenced lyrics sing through and the addition of Laura Ankles from Colour Me Wednesday and Maeve Westall of Jasmine 4.T. really compliment this lineup – it’s an experienced firecracker of fearsome stage presences combining to give an unrelenting wall of sound that refused to let up.
Nobody is safe from YAKKIE’s wrath, He Sleeps Alone is an anti-fuckboy anthem – “muscles never made a man,” Starling cries; “he’ll find a perfect life not today / he’ll find a perfect wife not today” is a triumphant repetition of a belter – loud and proud in the best way possible, defying those who refuse open up to the shelter and warmth that commands them. It’s easy to see why this record, just a few tracks in, was recorded with producer Peter Miles of Architects and Tesseract, recorded at the Middle Farm Studios in Devon; would you expect the band to do that anywhere else and even less to do it over four days? It eschews digital and feels refreshing in a way that you just don’t get anymore – righteous heavy music suits the turbulent political times in a way that just isn’t possible right now. Lean Out hits the honest truths home – “who cares for women? Other women” – with Starling’s vocals searingly brutal and encouraging those who don’t look out to do a better job than what they are, because it just isn’t good enough. “They call it care / we call it unpaid work,” harkens back to the injustice done on those who look after vulnerable people at the cost of their own careers, and the selfless sacrifices that they make – it’s an important track in a record full of them. The next Lambrini Girls have arrived – YAKKIE are very much their heirs.
Every track feels like you’re hit with a thousand punches, emphasising 90s indie with a punk edge and a ferocious wall of sound coming from Westall’s drums. It feels like what would accompany a Walter Hill movie at times, the raw energy of Streets of Fire or The Warriors. The melodic tunes are catchy and engaging, riff-galore, the album feels like a strong contender for the most important EP of the year. “I’ve outgrown the deepest love I’ve ever known” haunts the personal growth and moving on in Atlas, and then it switches back to “It ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got a gun,” showing what happens when those who are persecuted for so long dare to fight back, “and now you care,” it encourages those going to protests to respond to violence with violence, and feels particularly in line with what’s going down in America right now in Minneapolis.
Full of political statements YAKKIE switch tune; “another man killed his wife today,” for Right of Reply, demanding the right for women to feel basic safety. This band highlight the sexism of individual men – the duology of this and Secrets dovetail into similar themes and tap out the thrashy bass that encourages you to tap along to the message – it feels like Who Let the Dogs Out? at times in the best way possible. The horrors are unrelenting and why should they not be when the world is as fucked up as it is – these issues are everywhere and the cruelty of the world isn’t something to shy away from. YAKKIE use their experience as a supergroup to sound catchy; raw and powerful – “this is a right of reply for those who did not survive / because your self-pity was more important than her life” is a rallying cry of righteous anger; and in what will surely be an emotional moment live – the band feel similar to the hardcore screamo nature of Canadian punk outfit Piss in the subject matter that they cover; as well as recent Amyl and the Sniffers. It’s good company indeed.
Under the Pavement of the Beach exposes the political centre and how corrupt it is head on – ruthlessly tackling the world and showing how people united can pull together and overcome – it feels like last year’s Dropkick Murphys and historically, No Doubt, here, ending on a riotous note of optimism – “the liar took his throne again and the moon became the sun” kicks in “let’s meet in the trees and we’ll scream…” is an ode to escapism and even when hope is down we’ll find a way out; showing the love for people’s resilience. It’s a band that’s rushing to add a new chapter in punk history, the band themselves have already established themselves as icons in their own rights, but combined, they offer enough talent to look around at the genre and show; this is what you should be doing right now. It’s grunge and skate punk and gritty right to the floor and a kick to the teeth in a way that just few other bands are capable of. The experience helps, of course. But it still feels so impossibly raw and honest it’s hard not to tear away from.
Kill The Cop Inside Your Head will be self-released on the 13th of February 2026
YAKKIE are touring with Dead Pioneers across the following dates; and trust me – you’ll want to see them live. They have also recently announced to play at Bulletproof festival, with the likes of Maruja, Sprints and Pussy Riot – in June, supporting young artists 4-6 June.
26-Feb-26 - Bristol - The Croft
27-Feb-26 - Manchester - Rebellion
28-Feb-26 - Leeds - Key Club
01-Mar-26 - London - Underworld
Words by Miles Milton-Jefferies
