Sold For Parts may seem like quiet, well-behaved girls but their stage presence tells a different story. With their screaming vocals, 90s riot-grrrl covers and raw, ferocious lyricism, the Swansea-based band kicked off Fuel Rock Club’s ‘Pink Rock Social’ in style, warming up the crowd for a loud and lively night.

Formed in 2024, the four-piece band consists of drummer Queenie, guitarist Saffia, bassist Alicia and energetic frontwoman Izzy – each of them bringing their own individual flair to the band’s performance. Opening their set with ‘Calypso’, the mix of the heavy, pulsing bass with the distorted rhythm guitar plunged the crowd into the band’s gritty protest against issues that affect women today. 

“This one’s about when a guy’s checking you out and you know he’s looking at your a** when you walk past,” announced frontwoman Izzy as she introduced their debut single ‘EYETRAP.’ Evocative of Bikini Kill and Boys in Toyland, the vocals dominated the room with their defiant screams, giving light to the band’s personal experiences. 

I hate singing but I love screaming into the mic,

bassist Alicia told me previously, and her passion for ‘screaming’ strongly evoked the anger and emotion behind the lyricism.

Local to Swansea, the group I was with had seen Sold For Parts many times before, moshing and jumping together until frontwoman Izzy joined them in the pit during the instrumental. “This is Welsh culture” I jokingly told my friend who had come to visit me in Cardiff, and she absolutely loved the energy of the venue. “I have to come back” she told me, and I think this is mostly because of the truly unbeatable impression of Welsh gig culture that Fuel‘s atmosphere gave her. 

During ‘97%’, a track that emphasises how that percentage of women have been sexually harassed, Izzy’s interesting use of a cowbell acted as a call to action. While the heavy guitars and cowbell sounded, guitarist Saffia spoke about the issue in Welsh, which made for a really well-rounded and memorable performance. Other tracks like Charity Shop were more mellow than the riot-grrrl-esque ‘EYETRAP’, with the clean-toned guitar echoing more mid-90s Hole and PJ Harvey, which perfectly gave way to their cover of ‘Deceptacon’ by Le Tigre. The crowd instantly jumped into action as Izzy called “who took the bomp?” embodying Kathleen Hanna as she put on her shades and shuffled around the stage in her black boots. 

An even larger crowd filtered into the room when they covered ‘Black Sheep’ by Metric near the end of the set. They asked “Who’s seen Scott Pilgrim?” before Alicia and Queenie played the iconic beat of the first verse. As if it wasn’t lively before, the crowd seemingly screamed every word, making for a memorable end to an incredible set. 

But going back before the gig, I sat and had a chat with the band, huddled together on a leather sofa, asking them about what being alternative Welsh women means to them, and why they’re proud of bringing defiant riot-grrrl punk into the 2020s. 

In your own words, how would you describe your band’s image?

I: I think we like to go very out with all of our outfits and how we present ourselves because
there’s so many bands out there; so many bands in Swansea, where we’re from; and no one
really puts an effort into how they look. They’re all just boys who wear t-shirts.

S: So I think it’s a breath of fresh air for people to see really cool stage outfits. Also we’re
just girls so we want to dress as feminine as possible. It’s just fun to think ‘today I’ve got a
pretty dress on’ and not worry about what people think of me wearing it.

Q: Our outfits give us power. We’re very girl power. You can stand up for things that other
women wouldn’t.

I: They’re mismatched and they’re cool, and all the music is loud – it’s just messy in a good
way.

Who are your biggest musical role models?

I: I really look up to female frontwomen, Amy Taylor from Amy and the Sniffers is an icon. I saw her once before I joined a band, and I just thought I could be her. She doesn’t care; she puts everything into her performance. And Alanis Morissette for the songwriting part.

S: One of my influences is Brody Dalle from The Distillers, I think she’s really cool and she made me want to get into punk.

Q: Kathleen Hanna because she’s really the pioneer of the riot grrrl movement, which is what we are as a band and what we follow. She was in Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, which we cover a lot. 

A: I don’t listen to Maneskin that much, but their bassist Victoria De Angelis, she’s so cool and people say that their basslines are simple, but they’re so memorable.

I understand you’re all from South Wales, and you focus a lot of your band’s marketing towards that – how important do you think that Welsh representation is in the music industry? Especially for young Welsh women.

S: Well, we have a Welsh song. 

I: Yeah, I think that if we have a separate language, why can’t we speak it?

Q: Well put across that we’re Welsh everywhere, so if we do a gig it’s always ‘Welsh punk’. I’m so proud of it, Wales is so cool. 

A: I think especially since I’ve left school, I’ve gotten so much more into our culture. I’ve started speaking just Welsh at home because, well, I love welsh. It’s so important to have our culture. 

Do you have any advice for any other young people wanting to break into the industry?

S: To just not be nervous and just do it.

A: I think that, even if it starts as a small thing with your friends, it goes somewhere. We all started just from messages on Instagram saying “Hey, want to start a band?”

Q: Especially for girls as well, this is the sort of thing around “hot boy bands” and you just see them and they’re so talented, but no, you can do it. You can be much better than them.

I: We know so many people look us and think “I wish I was in a band”, and we always say “just do it.” That’s how women can get out there, and how we have power. 

A: No one notices the mistakes you make anyway. You’re the only one. And I’ve never felt as powerful as when I’m on stage.

You said earlier that you’re inspired by riot grrrl and punk – genres that are focused heavily on identity and community. What does being alternative mean to you?

A: I love it. It’s not even just about the music, it’s more about the crowd and community around it. Whether it’s a big gig or small gig, you never feel out of place. No matter how unique you are. you feel like you’re in your crowd and no one judges you. It’s a nice space where you can be who you want to be and not have people look down on you for it. 

S: I think as well, we try and make our gigs just a good vibe. 

Q: In the music scene in Swansea, it’s predominantly men who go to gigs. So, as a riot grrl band, it’s really important for us to create a space for alternative women, and non-binary people as well. There’s just not enough of spaces like that.

Words by Maddie Hobbs