Shark School: "If we run out of shark euphemisms, we will implode upon ourselves and disappear into the nothingness"

In an era where polished PR and relentless social media promotion have become the norm, the female-fronted alternative rock outfit, Shark School, have taken a different approach. Comprised of Nora Staunton on guitar and vocals, Peggy Forde on bass and Megan Bruce on drums and backing vocals, the band are in the vanguard of a new feminist rock movement.

The trio have a busy summer ahead, as they head out on the road to promote their debut album, Selachimorpha. July sees them return to their native Galway for the third edition of Femme Fest, a women-led festival they established in 2024.

“It’s definitely picked up,” says Nora. “It’s really exciting, because when we play, there’s more than, like, three people that definitely came with us.”

“You get to have more opportunities to have fun with your friends,” adds Megan. “Bigger crowds and bigger stages, and bigger fun.”

The band are visibly excited for the release of the album, as they explain the unorthodox way it came together.

“This album is the first few songs we wrote,” says Nora. “We always intended to record them and over time we didn’t. Then more of them started appearing, and falling from the sky, and we said we’d just record them all.”

The record is loud, unapologetic and unique. While provocative and aggressive on the surface, the inner message is more vulnerable. The album tackles themes like inner turmoil, identity, and the “relentless noise of existence”.

“If I heard this when I was 16, I think it would have changed my life,” says Nora. “In a nice way, where it’s like, ‘Oh my God, this person feels like me.’ This is for everyone, for young girls or young people to listen to and see that other people feel like that… I feel like when you’re younger, you don’t think anyone else feels like you.”

Initially, the album was intended to be two different EPs, but after commencing recording, Shark School realised the songs worked better in tandem. One major benefit is it means the band aren’t forced further into their repertoire of shark puns.

“If we run out of shark euphemisms, we will implode upon ourselves and disappear into the nothingness,” says Nora.

“It’s the sustaining life force of the band. We can’t exist without it,” adds Peggy.

The band explore complex themes of frustration, disappointment and gendered social hierarchy through loud, abrasive heavy metal with biting sarcasm. Similarities can be drawn between their sound and the perception of sharks as dangerous and aggressive.

Strengthening this unlikely association is the fact that sharks are actually highly attracted to this style of music.

“Sharks love heavy metal, because it sounds like thrashing fish,” says Nora. “It sounds like their prey. So if you play it for them they will actually swim towards you.”

While they don’t want to be simply known as the “female rock band”, Shark School are still proud of their identity.

“If people are like, ‘Oh, that’s the all-girl band’, we should wear that with pride,” says Nora.

“I think that sometimes,” adds Megan, “you can feel you have a responsibility to prove you deserve to be there, because you are a woman, especially for the drums. You kinda have to be like, ‘Yeah, I deserve to be here.’ I had to let that go, and not assume that people think I shouldn’t be there. Because that’s not fair to assume, and it’s not fair to put that pressure on yourself either.”

• Selachimorpha is out June 26. Shark School play Roisin Dubh, Galway as part of Femme Fest on July 17.