War On Women is a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, formed in 2010. The political,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

themes in their music include

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

and

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

History

In 2003, Brooks Harlan recruited Shawna Potter to sing and play guitar for AVEC, an indie-rock band that was based in Baltimore. Seeing

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...

playing guitar in "

Doll Parts "Doll Parts" is a song by American alternative rock band Hole (band), Hole, written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love. The song was released as the band's sixth single and second from their second studio album, ''Live Through This'', ...

" inspired Potter to play music. In 2010 Potter and Harlan formed War On Women, a band “inspired by the

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

bands

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

adored as a teenager.” War On Women released their debut album, a six-song EP titled ''Improvised Weapons,'' in 2012 on Exotic Fever Records. In 2015 the band released their first full-length album, the self-titled ''War On Women,'' on

Bridge Nine Records Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...

. The album was recorded, mixed and produced in collaboration with

J. Robbins James Robbins (best known as J. Robbins) is an American rock musician. Career Robbins began his career as a bassist for Government Issue, and has also led five of his own bands: Jawbox, Rollkicker Laydown, Burning Airlines, Channels, and Off ...

of the band

Jawbox Jawbox is an American alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1989 by J. Robbins (vocals/guitar), Kim Coletta (bass), and Adam Wade (drums). After the trio released the album ''Grippe'' in 1991, Bill Barbot (guitar/vocals) join ...

. Their second and third full-length albums were also released under by Bridge Nine Records. The second album, ''Capture the Flag,'' was again recorded with J. Robbins and released in 2018. The third album, ''Wonderful Hell'', was released in 2020. Guitarist, Harlan, has acknowledged influences of "

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (dru ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

, and

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

...", as well as less obvious influences such as

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...

Nomeansno Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, a ...

Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five is an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). The gro ...

, and

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

. In August 2021 Robbins’ band

announced that Harlan had joined the band, replacing guitarist Bill Barbot. In January 2022, ex-guitarist Nancy Hornburg accused member Brooks Harlan of "controlling and emotionally abusive behavior" during her time with the band, and alleged frontwoman Shawna Potter had been dishonest about the band's financial matters, including royalties. The band issued a response sharing their perspective of these events, disavowing the accusations and indicating Hornburg as having "repeated instances of lateness, inability to play, and overall inconsistent behavior." In the summer of 2022, the band returned to the UK and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

for a month long tour.

Discography

*''Improvised Weapons'' (2012, Exotic Fever Records) *''War On Women'' (2015, Bridge Nine Records) *''Capture the Flag'' (2018, Bridge Nine Records) *''Wonderful Hell'' (2020, Bridge Nine Records)

References

{{reflist Feminist musicians Hardcore punk groups from Maryland Musical groups established in 2010 Musical quintets 2010 establishments in Maryland