As The New York Times declared in a roundtable of female rockers last summer, “Rock’s Not Dead, It’s Ruled By Women.” And Screaming Females’ latest LP,All At Once, is Exhibit A, a big, burly, joyous, angry guitar-rock record whose feet are as nimble as its shoulders are wide. Bent over her guitar like a determined commuter forging through a blizzard, frontwoman Marissa Paternoster coaxes everything from furious fretwork to booming sludge to mellow surf-rock from her instrument over the course of the 15-song album, tied together by a thought-provoking lyrical through line exploring themes of freedom and oppression. The queen of rock ’n’ roll has announced herself; long may she reign.
Formed in New Brunswick, NJ in 2005, Screaming Females are Marissa Paternoster (guitar, vox), Mike Abbate (bass), and Jarrett Dougherty (drums). Over six albums and more than a decade of music making, the band has remained deeply individual and steadfastly DIY. They have also grown into one of the most dynamic and devastating touring bands going today.
Marissa Paternoster’s voice is the relentless force and central instrument that drives Screaming Females’ All At Once. Her howling vibrato doesn’t necessarily outshine the fired-up shredding or evocative lyricism. Rather, it makes those elements feel that much grander. The expression “I’ll make you sorry” never sounded as sly and, frankly, believable as it does coming out of Paternoster’s mouth. A sense of restless intensity translates stylistically, too. All At Once is a feverish rock n’ roll album, pieced together with power-pop grooves, punk progressions, indie-rock melodies, and even a hint of ska. But as ever, Paternoster is the star. When she sings, “The sun destroys me,” on “Agnes Martin,” it doesn’t sound hyperbolic; it sounds as if she’s on the verge of melting.
Out February 23rd, All At Once, is the trio’s most expansive and imaginative work to date — a double LP that swings between surreal miniatures and and solo-heavy sprawl. Concision takes a backseat to experimentation, with arrangements meant to evoke the energy and spontaneity of their live shows. It’s music built across a timeline that’s longer than our internet-enhanced moment typically tolerates and a testament to the band’s dedication and perseverance.
Much of Screaming Females’ appeal, and even their greatness, is their esotericism—in particular the impenetrable world of Marissa Paternoster’s hermetic guitar, lyrical poetry and visual art. The New Jersey trio’s seventh studio album, All at Once, veers from that world sharply, collecting some of the most conventionally anthemic and melodic rock songs of their career. The ironic twist is that for this particular group, who made their name on angular, punk-infused freakouts with Paternoster’s fog-horn voice out front, this counts as their experiment, one for which their previous albums, spent developing their own inimitable sound, has well prepared them.
From the album All At Once on Don Giovanni Records.
Screaming Females’ new release, “Deeply,” is a restrained and slightly wistful outing for the celebrated NewJersey punk band. The snare that largely marks time in the song cuts in sporadically, giving the track a stark and fractured quality that is similar to the band’s fiercer recent single “Glass House.”
However, “Deeply” never culminates into a mess of distortion or a consistent backbeat. The track comes complete with a video featuring the Females’ lead singer, Marissa Paternoster, spray-painting its lyrics onto a wall. The song, propelled by a droning organ-like sound, encourages the listen to “get high and quiet” and “get high for entry.”
Screaming Females’ new double album, “All at Once”, is out on February 23rd on Don Giovanni Records. The band pressed a 24-copy limited edition 7″ of its first single, “Black Moon,” in September, which was later released digitally.
Screaming Females. The New Jersey DIY-punk luminaries have announced their seventh studio album All At Once, due out next year on February 23rd, on the ever wonderful Don Giovanni Records.
Listen to opening track Glass House which singer/guitarist, Marisa Paternoster describes thus, “It’s very simple — just bass, drums, and two simple riffs. In the past, I might have insisted on adding more. Practicing self-restraint is something I have consciously been trying to do.”
The New Jersey DIY-punk luminaries Screaming Females have announced their seventh studio album All At Once, due out February 23rd, 2018 on Don Giovanni Records.
It will be made available in various formats including Digital, CD, Double-LP vinyl with a Limited Edition 7” and a Deluxe Limited Edition LPx3 with the 7” and an exclusive bonus LP of album demos. The band collaborated with producer Matt Bayles (Pearl Jam, Mastodon), 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.
Now more than a decade into its existence, Screaming Females can claim something that few of their peers possess in a comparable capacity: experience. “When you’ve been a band for 12 or 13 years, the resources can dry up and you just go back to what feels comfortable,” explains Dougherty. “The other option is that you develop stuff that a younger band would not have been able to do.” All At Once is the evidence of that growth — in its sprawl and scope, but also in its subtleties. “A song like ‘Glass House’ is something we knew we were capable of, but it took a while to fully embrace,” says Paternoster. “It’s very simple — just bass, drums, and two simple riffs. In the past, I might have insisted on adding more. Practicing self-restraint is something I have consciously been trying to do.”
The Fat Angel Sings 