The Empty Page – A Feminine Ending (Kycker)
A third single in a run recorded at the same time at The Nave in Leeds, Popoptica alt-rock ragers The Empty Page share their take-down of the anti-aging industry and celebrate aging-out of the male gaze on A Feminist Ending
Artist: The Empty Page
Track: A Feminine Ending
Label: Kycker
Release date: 18 March 2026
Find it: Bandcamp
You can always rely on Manchester’s The Empty Page to come out with a track which is not only another alt rock banger, but is squaring up with flair and a sneer to the dystopia we find ourselves living in. A Feminist Ending not only takes on the anti-aging industry – built on making sure women feel not good enough and spend their cash on potions to fix themselves – but celebrates evading the male gaze when those beauty standards are rejected.
They do it with a ‘I’m-keeping-my-calm’ heartbeat rhythm, chiming guitars and a vocal which goes from weariness to all out spitting-rage as a list of toxic ingredients is recited. It builds to a squall of guitar, as that rhythm punches out with a crash of cymbals.
With the previous singles in this run (When We Gonna Run? and Death On Our Side) we’ve suggested touchpoints from The Smiths through to the The Smashing Pumpkins. They stand true, as would adding any number more from across the alt rock, grunge, and shoegaze spectrum. But rather than compare let’s get to it: The Empty Page are both a culmination of those influences from across a wide spectrum and long history of alternative and punk, but they have also, distinctly, steadfastly and brilliantly, honed their own sound and voice.
‘They built an empire upon your self hate / and they write you off as you age, as you evaporate / Cos they only value women they can f*ck or impregnate’
About the track the band said, “A Feminine Ending is a song about rejecting beauty standards and the expectations placed on women in a world dictated largely by the whims of problematic men. It opens with a comment on the idea that women ‘disappear’ from the male gaze as they age, but rather than framing this as a bad thing, the song celebrates it.
“The song continues into a critique of the patriarchy, aided and abetted by the beauty industry, in particular the anti-ageing racket. A hugely profitable sector that puts untold pressure on women to be ‘attractive’ and remain forever young. It is a pervasive and sinister message which begins in childhood. When you stop engaging with that rhetoric, you become free.”
More than 10 years into their tenure as a band The Empty Page continue to channel righteous feminist rage and boldly stare into the abyss of modern life, and they warp it all in edgy, often-catchy, sometimes nu-gazey alt rock perfection. With A Feminine Ending they have once again shown themselves to be one of the most vital bands around.
A Feminine Ending by The Empty Page is out digitally now. Read our reviews of previous singles When We Gonna Run? and Death On Our Side, and find a print-exclusive interview with the band in issue 1 of Popoptica Zine.
Find The Empty Page: Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Website | TikTok
Image: Debbie Ellis
Live dates:
- 25 March – Blue Posts, Soho, London (Kick Out The Jams)
- 2 – 3 May – Loopfest, Shropshire
- 20 May – Kazimier Stockroom (w/Charlie Houston), Liverpool
- 26 July – Alice’s Wicked Teaparty, Dorset
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
Latest posts by Sarah Lay (see all)
- The Empty Page – A Feminine Ending (Kycker) - 18th March 2026
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