Australian rock trio Camp Cope are the girls who don‰’t care the popularity contest. Their sophomore album, How to Socialise & Make Friends, captures an age-old fight against the mainstream music scene in a time when that fight is constantly changing. But this band steps up to the challenge.

The album‰’s aptly titled, “The Opener‰” is a rowdy piece on always being the opening band and being lied to by sleazy cis men who run the industry. The irony between the album‰’s title and its first song captures the playful magic of this band. Even though people are telling them “all my success has got nothing to do with me/Yeah, tell me again how there just aren’t that many girls in the music scene,‰” that isn‰’t slowing down this record or this band.

After producing one of my favorite albums of 2016 (and a superb self-titled debut) this femme trio has risen out of their small D.I.Y. scene after just forming in 2015. But after tours with Cayetana and Chastity Belt, Camp Cope doesn‰’t forget their roots in their Australian community. Friends shows their fight against “another all-male tour preaching equality/It’s another straight cis man who knows more about this than me.‰Û

Friends doesn‰’t rely to heavy on Georgia Maq‰’s stunning voice and the band captures softer confessions. Tending to one another in the absence of God on “The Omen‰” shows where “to need a promise of heaven to/do good deeds always seemed inherently wrong.‰” The album captures their raw punk spirit, but with more refined lyricism and a mature breath.

Friends captures the peaks and valleys of relationships during a long, arduous summer. My two favorite tracks from Friends are break-up songs with totally different endings. On its title track, drummer Sarah Thompson carries the band in a revenge summertime romance. But “Anna‰” embodies what this band does best; making beautiful music that doesn‰’t sit pretty for its emotion.

The album turns to darker corners with brooding bass riffs from Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich in “UFO Lighter‰” and in their sweet goodbye in the album‰’s closer, “I‰’ve Got You.‰Û

Camp Cope doesn‰’t keep their activism to their lyrics. They recently criticized the Falls Festival for not including enough female artists in their lineup and garnered a wave of support after calling the festivals‰’ artists to wear their T-shirts standing against sexual assault during their sets.

In a world that can seem harsh for female and non-binary musicians, Hellmrich advised fellow artists to “nurture relationships with other women and build a community of artists around you who are supportive, encouraging and inspiring,‰” in an interview with frankie magazine. Camp Cope nurtures that conversation around