Problem Patterns Celebrate Belfast On New Single “I Think You Should Leave”

Belfast-based DIY feminist queerpunk quartet Problem Patterns have revealed their new single, I Think You Should Leave, that comes ahead of recently announced summer performances at Glastonbury Festival, Stendahl Festival, 2000 Trees, TRUCK Festival and Belsonic, with several other live dates. The inspiration for the song, a love letter of sorts to their hometown of Belfast, came from an interview the band conducted in which the journalist spoke disparagingly of Northern Ireland.

“He treated it like a scary, horrible place to be from. He asked us, ‘Why don’t you just leave?’ We could do nothing but laugh because, really, think about how rude that is to say. We love being a Belfast band and we want to embrace our rich history and educate people and give a message of hope. We’re saying ‘everybody leaves and nothing changes, I’ll stay here and create the spaces’, because we want to stay here and be a part of a better future and not just abandon our home, as the journalist had kindly suggested. It sort of dismissed all the work that’s been done to even get us here. During the troubles, Ciara, Beth and Bev would never have met and that makes us so grateful to stand up beside each other now and create music together when such a short time ago, that would’ve been unimaginable. Everywhere has its problems, but this is our home.  We’ve seen so many people leave for better opportunities elsewhere, and we can’t blame them, but we want to stay here and work together to create safe, inclusive spaces that work better for everybody. Additionally, Alanah actually moved here and created a home so it mustn’t be that bad.”

Musically, the band wanted to pay a small homage to the likes of Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones. Channelling the raw, punchy tones and themes of the original Northern Irish punks, Problem Patterns want to continue on their legacy, with guitarist Bev even nodding to the Alternative Ulster riff in her solo. It’s a small token of the band’s gratitude to those who paved the way for punk in Northern Ireland. Additionally, each member of the band brought their individual backgrounds and perspectives to the song across multiple verses, penning their own lyrics for each section.