I had the opportunity to catch Screaming Females at Zaphod Beeblebrox in Ottawa, Ontario back in June as they opened for Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. I was amazed at how much sound they were producing for a three-piece but what struck me most was the raw energy that was brought by lead vocalist/guitarist Marissa Paternoster. She had a set of pipes on her; when she sang, you listened! She could go from simple melodies to all out screams and her guitar skills were up there too! Paternoster's vocals range somewhere between Jemina Pearl (ex-Be Your Own Pet) and Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) with perhaps even a hint of Tegan & Sara thrown in. As an ensemble, Screaming Females craft a variety of delicious sounds. You can hear garage rock, pyschedelia, punk and even grunge in the tunes on what is Screaming Females fourth album. Certain bass lines even reminded me of the exact tone, popiness and catchiness that Krist Novoselic used to add in Nirvana (and Novoselic could create some memorable bass hooks). In fact, this whole album has a very 90s sound to it, right down to some of the dreamier-sounding guitar riffs of the Smashing Pumpkins. The track "Deluxe" is somewhat of a filler track as it is a short song which doesn't really seem to fit on the album. While it's a nice change of pace and interesting to hear the band go acoustic, the song simply isn't long enough to have any kind of worthwhile impact or effect. While the album won't capture the band's aggressive live performance it is still a phenomenal record and I highly recommend you pick it up and get out to see them in person if you can.
www.myspace.com/screamingfemales
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