Messed Up are four young women from Belarus and Ukraine who have been living in Warsaw as immigrants for some time. Originally, the band comes from the Belarusian city of Grodno near the Polish and Lithuanian borders. The quartet was founded in 2015, determined to escape the lethargy of their post-Soviet homeland and to confront the social expectations and constraints of their own environment with self-empowerment and creativity. In the small Belarusian subculture, which is often affected by repression and lack of understanding, at least a temporary escape from everyday society was possible; touring other cities and neighbouring countries broadens one’s own horizon better than Instagram and Vk.com. Soon the band is at home in a D.I.Y. scene, where bands, promoters and clubs know each other well and often have to operate on the edge of society. After Messed Up have been perfecting their bone dry, to the point punk rock for four years and released a digital EP, they have now delivered an eleven-song strong debut album titled “Everything You Believe In”. Singer Nastya with her powerful voice frequently reminds of her colleagues from Distillers, Hole or L7. The Russian lyrics of the band deal with social and political hotspots like racism, homophobia or social ignorance – developed from a personal and lyrical perspective sans catchphrase. In their cover of Iggy Pop’s “You Wanna Be My Dog”, the lyrics are slightly modified, giving new relevance to an old song. “Everything You Believe In” is not only the album title, but certainly the driving force for this young band, the reason to continue. They refuse to conform to the patriarchal and oppressive society of the former USSR. At the top of their lungs they shout out what they reject and continue sailing against the strong winds of the reactionary zeitgeist. In the meantime, the band members, like many others, have left their country and live in Warsaw.
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Credit: Bastian Bochinski
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