What a fantastic tribute to the relationships and artifacts that defined a specific corner of punk history. As a person who loves the Punk Rock Museum, this was perfection. It felt like the guided tours that (literally) cost at least 5 times the cost of this hardcover. This is a reminder of how important it is to keep an organized archive and to keep in touch with your friends.

There were some times in the audio that the transition from background discussion to interview portions were a bit unclear, but overall the narration here sounded so giddily engaged that it was a pleasure to listen to.

The Raincoats may be my new favorite band, tbh.

This was my introduction to the Raincoats. I just wasn't cool enough, or in the know enough to know. Now I do. It is funny how books arrive all at once. This paired nicely with Yoko's biography as well. I would highly recommend them both. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

Everything a fan could want. This is the type of obsessive biography that a fan would've created dozens of zines about in the early 1990s. You get details like what Pantone color was used on album artwork, for instance. But that's not mentioned frivolously — it's mentioned in a short section explaining how the band developed their music as a holistic piece of art with images, fonts, color schemes, music and words that was nothing like the hit-making corporate rock their brief major-label overlords tried to pigeon-hole them as.

Few who are not already fans are going to read this book but here's the brief summary of celebrity endorsements about The Raincoats that give them some cred and might inspire folks to give 'em a try. Johnny Rotten said their debut album should be preserved as the greatest representation of punk. Kurt Cobain tracked them down, got all their albums reissued and got them to re-form for the opening slot on the band's 1994 tour. The riot grrrl bands all seem to say that The Raincoats are why they started. Thurston Moore says they were the reason he ended his first band and started Sonic Youth. Bikini Kill says that in addition to inspiring them to form, The Raincoats were the entire reason they reformed and are touring now.

As Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill says in the book: <i>They taught so many women that there are other ways to play music or be in a band without having to perform any version of gender. They weren’t trying to be feminine or not feminine, and it didn’t feel like they were trying to occupy any kind of particular gendered identity—they were being themselves and showing you that you were also free to be yourself.</i>

The band headlined a festival in 1980 they got no end of crap for called Rock Against Sexism. The author talks to Lucy Whitman, aka Lucy Toothpaste, who created the double-sided handbill for the event. This excerpt mentions Lucy and Gina Birch, The Raincoats' bass player:

<i>Compared to other women-centered bands at that time, Lucy describes The Raincoats’ music as “much harder hitting.” Although many songs were markedly playful, they were “really tackling the darker side of sexism and feminism,” she says. As Gina emphasizes, “Men have thought for so long that they have a right to sexual assault, and that if women don’t respond in a particular way, they can do what they want. This attitude was pervasive, and I think it is still. There was a need to address it, and there’s still quite a bit of that same need now.”</i>

The author tracks down great sources to talk to, from the Polish promoter who booked The Raincoats as the first punk band to perform in Poland behind the Iron Curtain in 1978, to the many drummers who played for them using the band's weirdo time signatures, to tons of people who were influenced by them or crossed paths with them in signficant ways like Tobi Vail, Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox (Bikini Kill); Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth; Shelley drummed for The Raincoats on a 1994 tour); Liz Phair; Angel Olsen; Viv Albertine and Palmolive (The Slits); Patty Schemel (Hole); Molly Neumann (Bratmobile); Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney); Jean Smith (Mecca Normal); and many more.

She got access to hundreds of rare images and artifacts like old show posters and set lists.

I listened to the audiobook read by the author via Netgalley and loved it so much that I got the Kindle on release day so I could view all the photos and highlight all the bands and people I learned about that I want to check out — like Big Joanie!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this advanced listening copy of Shouting Out Loud: Lives of the Raincoats by Audrey Golden. I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts about this book.

This was an eye opener into a cornerstone of punk music that I was wholly unfamiliar. I have always associated punk music with loud and usually angry music, shouted through dented microphones at rowdy crowds (not a criticism, I love punk!). It still is that but hearing of the experimental side of coin was a wholly new way to think about Punk, not just as a genre, but as a continual subversion of expectations through art. This book was a love letter to The Raincoats, assembled with personally held archival items of the band members, spoken word recollections, and other media along the way. The author went to great lengths to assemble a tapestry of stories and moments that shined a light on the impact of The Raincoats.

It is stated as fact that this band was (and is) responsible for influencing hundreds (if not thousands) of people who went on to peruse notable careers in music. As I had never heard of this band, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. At multiple points during this listen, I stopped to turn on one of the albums / tracks referenced to engage with the material. I'll admit, I struggled to connect with the music through the lens of how I have understood 'Punk'. Yes, it is 'rough around the edges' and politically charged and subversive and challenges societal norms (and even the notion of how music can be played). But I have yet to connect with in the way the book lays out as its foundational importance to this era music. As such, I felt like the 'higher version' of this specific art is 'not for me' even if it is the direct influencer of art that is. I do plan to sit down with the lyrics and listen with intent, now that I know more of their story to see if I can crack into what resonated with so many great artists. For now, I am looking through a window at a show in progress.

With a foreword from Greil Marcus, we know we're in for a serious ride. Meticulously researched, Golden lays out the history of The Raincoats in three distinct sections, paralleling three separate arcs the band took. From their art school days, squatting in London flats, seeing the first shows of The Sex Pistols and hanging out with the big names of punk, Ana da Silva and Gina Birch were pioneers themselves. With their "we can do that" ethos they made it happen. They learned along the way, had members come and go, were in the right (squat) place at the right time, recorded an EP and then an album, sounding like nobody else. I listened to a lot of their music when listening to this and every song made me smile.

Golden puts them in the context of the scene. It's not only a history of The Raincoats, but of the punk scene itself. Then in their second arc, when an independent radio station started playing their music in Olympia, Washington, and the rest is more history. That wave includes Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, and of course Kurt Cubain and Courtney Love - Nirvana and Hole. "Riot Grrrl" Fairy Godmothers.

With their artistic backgrounds, Ana and Gina were involved in their album designs, posters, clothes, and eventually video. Those strengths play out in the third arc.

To call The Raincoats influential is an understatement. To call Shouting Out Loud a band biography is an understatement. This is a history made possible by the depth of material collected and preserved, a genuine archive project that cements these women's places in music history.

The generous number of photos enhance the trip down memory lane. I hope that there is a way to include them for audiobook listeners! And it was funny. I think there are around 42 headings saying the same thing: "The Raincoats Need A Drummer". That happened a lot.

Golden is passionate about her subject, and it comes through in her narration.

My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Da Capo Press for the Advance Listener Copy. (pub. date 7/15/2025)

Shouting Out Loud is a passionate tribute to The Raincoats, a band that defied convention and carved out space for a new kind of punk ethos: intimate, experimental, and wholly their own. Audrey Golden does an admirable job placing the band within the broader context of feminist punk and DIY culture, and her love for the subject radiates throughout every page.

However, the book leans too heavily on the well-worn narrative of Kurt Cobain as their "discoverer," which repeatedly overshadows The Raincoats' own agency and groundbreaking innovation. While the inclusion of fan letters effectively demonstrates how deeply the band resonated with listeners, the extensive excerpts (particularly from Tobi Vail) begin to feel excessive and detract from the band's own story.

Despite these issues, Golden succeeds in illuminating why The Raincoats mattered then and continue to matter now. For fans of post-punk, riot grrrl history, or women who reshaped the musical landscape entirely on their own terms, this remains a compelling and necessary read.

Thanks NetGalley for this audiobook. It was a very interesting insight into the working lives of The Raincoats, how they became the band they did, and how they’ve continued through to today. Lots of information about who was involved in their band life.

Thank you to Hachette Audio | Da Capo Press and to NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook.

I had heard of the Raincoats prior to this book, but didn't know much about them. This book was well researched and well written. The author certainly put the work in on this book.

I really liked the narrator as well.

Well, for anyone who knows me. I’m nothing if I’m not predictable I loved Kurt Cobain, he in turn loved The Raincoats, therefore of course I’m interested. Even if it did provide a reminder of Kurt’s death, especially as the band were due to support Nirvana right here in Glasgow. A gig that never happened for obvious reasons.

The first biography written and it didn’t disappoint, it speaks or rather Shouts out loud the story of the 3 lives of the band, but also of punk, anarchy, anti establishment, anti patriarchy, feminist and queer belonging. The band have achieved so much in the art world throughout the years.

An inspiration to everyone who wants to be themselves.

Written and narrated by Audrey Golden who has definitely put the work in, in regard to research.

Huge thanks to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧

3.75 🌟