Trailblazing Melbourne femme rock band Girl Monstar announce new album GRRRR!!, to be released January 27, 2026
Girl Monstar mini-doco goes live on YouTube tonight at 7:00PM AEDT
Second single “Hate Train” coming November 20, follows first single (and first new track in 33 years) ‘Blue Cats With Green Eyes’ which is out now!
Trailblazing Melbourne garage-pop/hard rock band Girl Monstar are back with their first new music since 1992!
Girl Monstar‘s new album GRRRR!! will be released January 27 2026 on Vicious Kitten Records. First single ‘Blue Cat With Green Eyes’ – the band’s first new track in 35 years! – is out now, and second single Hate Train’ is coming November 20.
GRRRR!! is available to pre-order now via Bandcamp, with the two singles available instantly to all who do: GRRRR!! The Album | GIRL MONSTAR | Girl Monstar
A short documentary on the band will go live on YouTube tonight – Friday October 31 at 7:00PM AEDT – just in time for trick or treat! You can watch a short teaser here.
Known to some as the band that introduced the world to Sherry Rich, Anne McCue and Sue World, Girl Monstar were the first all-female band to gain a national profile in Australia in the late ’80s/early ‘90s. They played over 200 shows, sharing stages with Iggy Pop, the Ramones, Sonic Youth, the Hard-ons, GOD, the Hoodoo Gurus, The Divinyls, Poison and Skid Row.
Formed in 1988, Girl Monstar gained a reputation as a formidable live act and made an impact with their all-too short recording career. Two singles – ‘Surfing on a Wave of Love’ and ‘Joe Cool’ topped the Alternative charts in 1989 and 1990, both nominated for Best Independent Release at the ARIA Music Awards. They appeared on TV shows Countdown Revolution, The Big Gig, Rage and The Factory and released the one album ‘Monstereo Delicio’ in 1992.
First single ‘Blue Cat With Green Eyes’ was the impetus for the reunion and was written by Sherry as part of a Philosophy Unit while studying a Creative Arts Industries degree in 2017.
“It was a song that didn’t fit my other music projects,” says Sherry. “I thought right away, this is a Girl Monstar song. Sue [drummer of Girl Monstar] and I tracked drums and rhythm guitar then sent files to Anne in Nashville to add twelve string, lead guitars and harmonies. On the first listen I thought.. we’re back! Once the seed was planted everything flowed so easily and we were just carried along.
“The track sat around for a while until noted sound engineer Chris Dickie [the Pogues, Kirsty MacColl] asked if there was a song he could mix to try out some new gear in his studio. It came out so well the band decided to record more songs.”
After splitting originally in 1993 – their last show was a fiery gig the first Melbourne Big Day Out – three of the four Girl Monstar members went onto noteworthy music careers.
Singer/guitarist Sherry Rich switched up genres and formed the pioneering alt-country group Sherry Rich & The Grievous Angels (featuring Steve Connolly and Charlie Owen on guitar) before a ten-year stint in Nashville working as a songwriter and collaborating on two albums with members of Wilco. Returning home in 2006, Sherry continued with the Grapes, a 60s flavoured folk rock duo with Ashley Naylor and released her most recent solo album ‘The Divine Crimson V’ in 2021. She has co-written with the likes of Paul Kelly, Mick Thomas and Nashville writers including Jim Lauderdale, Tammy Rogers and Will Kimbrough.
Lead guitarist Anne McCue relocated to Los Angeles and then Nashville, forging a career as a singer songwriter and producer, merging country and blues with rock and pop. She has released 8 solo albums, including ‘Roll On,’ BBC broadcaster Bob Harris’‘Album of the Year’, and ‘Wholly Roller Coaster’ released in 2025. She has toured the US with Heart and Lucinda Williams, and played guitar on Robyn Hitchcock’s 2017 self-titled album. Anne is also radio host of ‘Songs on the Wire’ on Nashville WXNA.
Drummer Sue Shaw (Sue World), who had, while still at high school in 1981, formed the seminal all female Melbourne garage band the Wet Ones, has maintained a strong presence in the last 30+ years on the local garage scene with the Exotics, Plastic Section and the Wraylettes.
Completing the line-up is bass player Janene Abbott, who had disappeared into the wilds of the Northern Territory, but was freshly divorced and had just bought a new bass and amp when Sue found her. She was ready to rock!
With decades more musical and life experience under their belts and fired by the joy of reconnecting, Girl Monstar are back, stronger and more creative than ever with new songs informed by their unique experiences as women, feminists, mothers, musicians and activists.
GRRRR!! will be released on Vicious Kitten Records on January 27, 2026. Itis available to pre-order now via Bandcamp, with the two singles available instantly to all who do: GRRRR!! The Album | GIRL MONSTAR | Girl Monstar
Girl Monstar onInstagram
