PASSIONATE, principled, and refreshingly plain-spoken, Louisa Roach will not be cowed into silence. As She Drew The Gun, the Wirral-based singer-songwriter has spent the last seven years cementing her reputation as a vital voice in the alternative scene, using punk-infused psych-pop as a vehicle for exposing injustice and for advocating for a fairer and more tolerant society.

That message is more potent than ever on Behave Myself, her incendiary third album released on October 8.

Written during lockdown, Behave Myself very much reflects the societal circumstances surrounding its creation.

Roach said: “It’s become more important to me than ever to say something meaningful about what’s going on in the world and about the systems that we live in. And I think I can only write about issues like these, because I’ve experienced them.”

A proud socialist, feminist, bi-sexual and mother of one, Roach was born in Birkenhead and raised in a working class, single-parent family. With her mum forced to work weekends and evenings to pay the bills, Roach and her brother would often be taken care of by their nan, and it was through singing along to records with her that Roach first fell for music. Roach began playing open mic nights and local shows, developing She Drew The Gun in 2014.

By 2015, she was playing sessions for BBC Introducing in Merseyside, putting her on the radar of The Coral’s James Skelly, who promptly signed her to his label Skeleton Key.

She Drew The Gun’s debut album – the Skelly-produced Memories Of The Future – arrived to acclaim in April 2016 with Revolution Of The Mind following in October 2018.

“This record is about asking ourselves, what kind of system do we want?” Roach added

“Do we want women to be equal to men in the same system we have now?

"Or do we need to break this whole system and have one that works for women all over the world; one that’s anti-colonial, anti-imperial and truly intersectional?

“There’s this idea that we – as a society – don’t see our common condition properly and we behave ourselves and try to fit into the existing system instead of rebelling or pushing back enough.

“So this album’s there for people to grab hold of when they’re ready to explore that rebellious streak.”

Behave Myself is released on Submarine Cat Records.