Unsanitary Napkin are an anarcho-punk band from Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa. Featuring Hannah Salmon (guitar, vocals), Rupert “Ru” Pirie-Hunter (bass) and Ben Knight (drums) the three-piece draw on Crass, Rudimentary Peni, Flux of Pink Indians, Poison Girls and Devo to play politically charged punk rock that gives the targets of their anger a good spray while also taking the piss out of them with anatomical precision.
The Nappies formed in 2015, jamming at Turret House in Newtown, and played their first show as the opening act for Neil Roberts Day 2015. Ben had already drummed in a long list of punk bands, including Rogernomix, Streetkunt, The Wrongmen, Teen Hygiene and The All Seeing Hand. Ru had played in Downer Buzz and Bent Folk. For Hannah, an accomplished visual artist, Unsanitary Napkin was her first band.
The songs are 100% anarcho-punk, taking aim at capitalism, patriarchy, right-wing politics, gender identity, Christian bigots, Zionism, colonialism and the concentration of extreme wealth. Feminist rage sits at the centre, but the band also poke fun at their targets in songs like “Chode Crystal”, “The Balls (To Say What We’re All Thinking)”, “Modern Alpha” and “Commodore Keating (Who Sees You Excreting)”. Those themes mirror Hannah’s visual art, produced under the name Daily Secretion, which has featured across zines, posters, album art and exhibitions over more than a decade.
After a demo tape in 2016, the band released their first full-length album, Patriotic Grooves, that same year. The EP Orgasmic Capitalism followed in 2018 and was toured around New Zealand and Australia. A split EP with Hamilton band Contenders came next, then the second album, All Billionaires Are Bastards, in 2022, and a 2024 split EP with Australian band Jalang. Their most recent release is the EP The Balls Are Back In Town (2026), produced for the Aotearoa/ Australia tour of Deathro (Kanagawa, Japan’s #1 rock vocalist) who The Nappies accompanied as backing band.
In 2022 the band launched Displeasure, which they describe as the digital subsidiary of Unsanitary Napkin. Ru moved to guitar, Hannah focussed on lead vocals, and Ben played drums and samples. Displeasure gives the band a different musical palette while keeping the same anarcho-punk politics, and has been described as “Napalm Devo”.
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| Origin | Wellington |
| Genre | anarcho-punk |
| Years Active | 2015 – now |
| Labels | Always Never Fun, Limbless Music, Zero Style, Control |
| Associated Acts | Rogernomix, Downer Buzz, All Seeing Hand, Teen Hygiene, Displeasure |
| Current Members | Hannah Salmon (guitar, vocals) Rupert Pirie-Hunter (bass, vocals) Ben Knight (drums) |
| Websites | Bandcamp |
Releases
| Title | Date | Label | Type | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsanitary Napkin | 2016, April 9 | Zero Style | demo EP | tape/ DL |
| Patriotic Grooves | 2016, Nov 14 | Always Never Fun Limbless Records Zero Style | album | 12″/ DL |
| Orgasmic Capitalism | 2018, Aug 13 | Always Never Fun Limbless Records Control | EP | 7″/ DL |
| Rungus Among Us | 2019, Aug 19 | Razored Raw | compilation | tape/ DL |
| Contenders/ Unsanitary Napkin | 2019, Oct 25 | split EP | tape/ DL | |
| All Billionaires Are Bastards | 2022, March 24 | Always Never Fun Limbless Records | album | 12″/ DL |
| Catastrophe | 2023, October 9 | single | DL | |
| Unsanitary Napkin/ Jalang | 2024, June 14 | Bad Habit Records Ruin Nation | split | 12″/ DL |
| The Balls Are Back In Town | 2026, Sept 1 | demo EP | tape/ DL |
Timeline
2015, November 21, Duncan Pavilion
2016
2016, January 22, Valhalla
2016, February 3, Valhalla
2016, March 11, Valhalla
2016, March 12, Wine Cellar
2016, April 9, Unsanitary Napkin Cassette
2016, April 9, Newtown Bowls Club
2016, June 11, Valhalla
2016, August 11, Valhalla
2016, August 20, RNZ: Introducing: Unsanitary Napkin
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/introducing/audio/201812961/introducing-unsanitary-napkin
2016, September 17, Newtown Bowls Club
2016, November 2, Trumphole
2016, November 14, Patriotic Grooves
2017
2017, January 6-7, NOW festival
2017, February 17, Valhalla
2017, February 25, Whammy
2017, March 10, Such Is Life
2017, March 13, Northcote Social Club
2017, April 7, Newtown Community Centre
2017, May 12-13, Whammy Bar
2017, August 5, Newtown Bowls Club
2017, August 20, Workingmen’s Bowling Club
2017, August 25, Onslaught 13
2017, September, Radio One 91FM
2017, September 9, Newtown Bowls Club
2017, November 25, Neil Roberts Day
2018
2018, April 27, Valhalla
2018, May 5, Hamtown Smakdown
2018, June 1-2, Valhalla
2018, June 23, Elgin Street, AKL
2018, August 3, Audio Foundation
2018, August 13, Orgasmic Capitalism
2018, August 17, Newtown Bowls Club
2018, August 24 – September 8, Australia
2018, September 29, Newtown Bowls Club
2018, October 26-27, Whammy
2019
2019, February 15, Newtown Community Centre
2019, March 29, Wellington High School
2019, May 9, Meow
2019, August 19, Rungus Among Us compilation
2019, August 31, Aro Valley Hall
2019, September 21, Pyramid Club
2019, October 4-6, Dark Days
2019, October 25, Contenders/ Unsanitary Napkin
2019, October 25-26, Whammy
2019, November 30, Aro Hall
2020
2020, January 31, Yot Club
2020, March 8, Newtown Festival
2020, June 20, Valhalla
2020, June 27, Newtown Sports Bar
2020, August 8, Space Monster
2020, August 14, Valhalla
2020, October 17, Newtown Sports Bar
2020, October 24, Otautahi Punkfest
2020, November 13-14, Dankfest
2020, December 5, Neil Roberts Day
2021
2021, May 21, Newtown Sports Bar
2021, September 4, Valhalla
2022
2022, March 24, All Billionaires Are Bastards
2022, May 13 – July 2, ABAB tour
2022, May 13, Snails
2022, May 21, The Vault, AKL
2022, June 24, Valhalla
2022, July 1, The Vault
2022, August 26, Valhalla
2022, November 30, Meow
2022, December 2, Valhalla
2023
2023, April 15 – May 2, Japan tour
2023, April 16, Studio Olive, Yokohama
2023, October 9, Catastrophe
2024
2024, January 6, Meow
2024, May 19, Unsanitary Napkin/ Jalang
2024, May 19, Fairfield Bowls
2024, June 10 – 22, European Tour
2024, July 11, Moon Bar
2024, July 27, Porridge Watson
2025
2025, May 24, Destroy Napier
2025, June 28, Underworld Tavern
2026
Unsanitary Napkin: The Balls Are Back In Town
2026, September 4, Newtown Bowling Club
2026, September 6, Newtown Hospital DIY Skate Park
2026, September 11, Lyttelton Coffee Co
2026, September 17, Croat
2026, September 18, Bell City, Melbourne
2026, September 19, Thornbury Bowls, Melbourne
2026, September 20, Footscray Park Bowls Club, Melbourne
2026, October 23-25, Punkfest
