SCREAMING FEMALES
+ Scrap Brain
+ Rodents
SCREAMING FEMALES are one of those force-of-nature bands that only comes around once in a blue moon. Their story starts in New Brunswick in 2005, with Marissa on guitar and vocals, Jarrett on drums and Michael on bass. ‘Power Move’ was the band’s first full-length with any label (or any outside help) and was released by their hometown label, Don Giovanni Records, in 2008. They’ve gradually sneaked into a wider mainstream consciousness, gaining attention for their punk rock sensibilities and their raucous live shows driven by Marissa’s famed guitar heroics. Now Screaming Females are DIY-punk luminaries, on the cusp of celebrating 13 years as a band by releasing this February’s new album, entitled ‘All At Once’ on Don Giovanni Records. The band collaborated with producer Matt Bayles, setting out to make an album in the spirit of a salon-style gallery show, where larger pieces provide an eye-level focal point to a galaxy of smaller works. Concision took a back seat to experimentation, with arrangements meant to evoke the energy and spontaneity of their live performances. ‘All At Once’ is a reminder there’s a hopeful and joyful energy to underground music-making. Patience, perseverance, and long term dedication still work.
http://screamingfemales.com/
SCRAP BRAIN play primitive hardcore punk, kind of almost whacked-out Flipper style with a real noisy/no wave dissonant tone. The lyrics are fantastically sarcastic and barbed, a particular favourite being the couplet “M’lady me, I’ll murder you”, which may provoke a smirk or wry smile, but is absolutely not a joke. Their recent 7″ ‘Unhappy Hardcore’ is available through all good stockists of composed cacophony, desperate dirges and pieces of the punk puzzle. This is brute force music, the sound of the claustrophobia of London, the claustrophobia of being a human being trapped inside of your own brain.
RODENTS was started by the prolific Robert Eyres a fair few years back. Hailing from an underground basement in Chigwell, next door to Alan Sugar’s gaff, Rodents run a tight but scuzzy ship of rock, sailing through the waters of a broken and tired system. We’re talking discordant stoner, garage pop of the highest order here. Check them out through the Permanent Slump imprint.