[Cover photo credit to Michael Galinsky]

Feminist Punk band Bratmobile has announced the special limited edition, The Real Janelle & The Peel Session as a Record Store Day Black Friday reissue, available in participating record stores across the US on November 28, 2025 via Kill Rock Stars. The CD version is also available for pre-order.

The Real Janelle & The Peel Session reissue brings together two key Bratmobile releases in one place. Side A, The Real Janelle, was originally released in 1994 as a 12″ EP and CD. Kill Rock Stars reissued it digitally in 2023, and this is its first time back in physical format.

Finally back in circulation, Side B, The Peel Session, was recorded in a proper studio and includes rarely-heard versions of select songs, plus a cover song not otherwise available. Recorded for John Peel at the BBC in July 1993, these recordings haven’t seen the light of day since the EP’s original CD short run in 1994. Bratmobile’s Peel Session has been out of print ever since.

Drummer Molly Meuman says:

When we recorded The Real Janelle, we hadn’t really worked in a proper full-service recording studio before. I remember the enlightenment of hearing our just written songs come to life in a new way and being transformed by the experience. To take them to Maida Vale a few weeks later to record a Peel Session was beyond what I had ever imagined possible. Bringing these sessions together and hearing them again in a new context is remarkable, and it fills me with immense pride.

Guitarist Erin Smith shares about the Peel Session:

It’s hugely exciting that it’s coming out on vinyl now for the first time EVER- and doubly exciting since it retains the nod to the original “band list” artwork format that all early Peel Session releases had. And the CD is amazing-looking, too! The reissue has all of the stripped-down minimalist punk trio power that Bratmobile is known for- with the added bonus of the incredible studio recording technology of the BBC! I’m glad that a lot more people are now finally going to get to hear this and it sounds amazing!

Frontwoman Allison Wolfe adds:

Both The Real Janelle and The Peel Session were recorded within a month of each other, representing a slice of Bratmobile life in the summer of ‘93, so it makes perfect sense to rerelease them together in one package. I’m especially psyched for The Peel Session since the recording quality is so good and it’s been nearly impossible to find (I don’t even own a copy!).

— Side A — The Real Janelle
1. The Real Janelle
2. Brat Girl
3. Yeah, Huh?
4. Die
5. And I Live In A Town Where The Boys Amputate Their Hearts
6, Where Eagles Dare

— Side B — The Peel Session
1. There’s No Other Way / No You Don’t
2. Bitch Theme
3. Make Me Miss America
4. Panik