Band Spotlight: Screaming Females

Photo courtesy of thetripwire.com

Who: Screaming Females

What do they sound like?: My new favorite band.

Why YOU Should Listen!: Let me start this off by saying I’m pretty pissed at myself here. I feel like I probably could have seen Screaming Females about 29 times by now. Chalk it up to me being a lazy sack of shit or whatever but I finally took my head out of the sand and saw the band live recently. I had only really heard their first album at that point and nothing ever really grabbed me. People always told me that they were amazing live and that lead vocalist/guitarist Marissa Paternoster was the next great female guitar hero. It’s all true and Screaming Females will be the next great indie phenomenon. Look out Rolling Stone, here they come!

The band’s latest record Power Move (Don Giovanni) has not left my headphones since I bought it. There is something so familiar yet unique about the band’s tunes. You can hear the effects of their homebase of New Brunswick, NJ (See: The Measure [SA], Hunchback) in the mix. The influence of mid-to-late 90s alt-rock bands is undeniable as well (See: Sleater Kinney, Bikini Kill).

But the band, as Fleetwood Mac would say (yeah, I went there), go their own way, through their DIY approach to artwork, management, and attitude. With their face-melting guitar solos and funky rhythms, they cannot be placed into a genre easily and, frankly, that’s exciting.

In their three year existence, the band have played over three hundred plus shows and it’s starting to pay off. The band was recently asked to open Dead Weather‘s (ya know, Jack White’s new band) tour. They are also playing with Dinosaur Jr. in the not-too-distant future. I think White should say piss off to his new band and form one with Paternoster.  Hell, why not give J Mascis a call too?

Believe all the hype they are so rightfully getting right now. Screaming Females are going to take the indie/punk/alternative rock world by storm soon enough.

Check out the video for the song “Bell” below.

AND….learn about the band so more below.