Girl Band to Gilla Band

I may have overstated with the 'art police' - this is a band we're talking about so obviously it would be more of a job for the craft police and less of a threat to the public imagination. But point taken. Of course they can change names. Don't band name changes usually indicate that a project has failed or that there is legal trouble with previous band members though?

You may not, but plenty of women would have an issue with an all male lineup in the traditionally male-dominated and often casually misogynistic heavy rock sphere having the audacity to call themselves Girl Band. Even Steve Albini (not a man inclined to bend to popular pressure) has been reflecting recently that some of the stuff like this he was responsible for was harmful.

I don’t know why the band chose Gilla, but it is an old Irish word meaning something like boyhood/youth, which sounds a far more plausible source than some obscure alleged slang term that somebody used one-time in 2003.

There is indeed a long history of groups in the noise rock genre giving themselves controversial names, provocative album covers, fashions etc. Hence my reference to Steve Albini’s recent comments.

You clearly don’t have the first clue about this subject.

Not whinging, laughing at them :)

An all-male Girl Band is pretty tame tbf, and I don’t think it sparked any big controversy—they aren’t an especially big group anyhow—but clearly they decided it’s not appropriate. No pitchforks involved. And their new name is more googleable anyhow, which is a consideration these days (an early problem for The National.)