The Paranoyds released visuals for “Egg Salad” off of their debut album Carnage Bargain! Directed by Nicole Stunwyck, “constructed of splinters from classic girl group, lo-fi guitar pop, and the forceful impact of Riot Grrrl.” The Paranoyds tap into both sides of Los Angeles life
“Egg Salad’ is an homage to a spoiled brat from the Valley. She keeps sneaking cash outta mom’s purse, doesn’t have any ambition or goals in life, just wants to party, and keeps getting away with minor crimes. Sometimes she even makes it to Hollywood!!! (“walk down Cherokee looking for a treat”).
“We were so excited when Nicole reached out. It’s honestly been a fantasy of mine to have a pen pal creative project with someone across the world! Plus, her aesthetic and previous work are all amazing. We are so stoked to be able to indulge in technology for this reason- creating projects that would otherwise be impossible. Ambar and Max are our HEROES. They nail every project, and we barely have to have a conversation beforehand. I guess they believe in us like we believe in them, and that really makes my heart swell! We have the same taste in everything, and I feel like we’re all sharing the same goggles when we do projects together. We are so grateful that they hopped on board this project and believed in Nicole’s work too.” – Staz Lindes of The Paranoyds
“The video presents the glitzy & glamorous world of a teenage girl who, after accidentally catching a beauty pageant on TV, dreams of her rise to stardom & subsequent downfall…It’s not a commentary on anything but an experimental depiction of my own personal fascination for young tragic starlets alà ‘Valley of The Dolls.'” – Director Nicole Stunwyck
The Paranoyds “Carnage Bargain” out on Suicide Squeeze Records
The Paranoyds have made a name for themselves as one of the most exciting Los Angeles bands since forming in 2015, playing festivals like Coachella and touring with the likes of DIIV, Albert Hammond Jr., Sunflower Bean, and BRONCHO. Today the band finally announce their long-awaited debut album, “Carnage Bargain”—a raucous blend of garage rock grit, new wave swagger, classic horror film soundtrack campiness, and a myriad of other left-of-centre influences. The exhilarating ten-track LP released via Suicide Squeeze Records.
It’s ironic that the band’s moniker winds up being an apt summary of the band’s general outlook on technology and modern culture given that The Paranoyds’ humble beginnings can be traced back to a friendship forged between Staz Lindes (bass/vocals) and Laila Hashemi (keys/vocals) over Myspace in their early teens. Bonded by a shared interest in local underground music, the pair eventually moved their online friendship into the real world. Laila’s childhood friend Lexi Funston was brought into the fold and the first vestiges of The Paranoyds began to take shape. “We would all go to our friends’ shows and it hit us that we could start a band and play shows too,” Funston says. With the addition of drummer David Ruiz in 2015, the band found the perfect personnel for their sonic balance of jubilant energy and foreboding undercurrents.
To celebrate the album announce, The Paranoyds share the record’s lead single “Girlfriend Degree.” A mid-tempo stomper of clap-along beats, fuzz guitar leads, and call-to-arms vocals described by the band as an ode to “being a badass woman who’s taking time to make sure she’s doing things for herself,” “Girlfriend Degree” makes the band’s mission to reject the status quo clear on this initial track. Read a bit more about the track below, and watch the Ambar Navarro-directed (Cuco, Soccer Mommy, Stef Chura) music video.
“‘Girlfriend Degree’ is a call to arms, a reminder to be a supremely self-loving woman, to just do you. There’s all this pressure about being ‘the ideal woman,’ and it’s easy to get caught up in that—to spend your time trying to be all these things that others think you should be. Getting a ‘girlfriend degree’ is about settling, selling oneself short and not believing in yourself—valuing your partner’s beliefs or opinions over your own. It’s cool to be a girlfriend or wife or whatever, but there’s so much more to being a woman than that. This desire to be above that is also somewhat a telling of how our band came to be. We were all going to a bunch of shows and obviously having a great time and it took us a bit for us to realize that we could also make and perform our own music….and that nothing was preventing us from doing that besides ourselves. We all have power and we should use that power to exercise our own agency.
“We’re living in the dystopian future. Our lives are completely tracked and programmed, our extension of ourselves is a handheld computer with a microphone and camera that stays on while were unaware, and, on top of everything, the extreme right is gaining continuous world power,” The Paranoyds explains of its name. “What isn’t there to be paranoyd about?”
“Carnage Bargain” captures this chemistry perfectly—channelling the genre-mashing weirdness of guitar-and-keyboard provocateurs like The Intelligence on tracks like “Laundry,” the fever-dream kitsch of early B-52s on “Ratboy,” krautrock’s motorik groove on “Hungry Sam,” and the beguiling pop of Blondie on the sweet-and-salty highlight “Courtney.” The band may indeed be paranoid, but they offer a solution to our modern ills through the simple act of being an inspiring, independent, and unflappable musical force.
Pet Cemetery EP came out back in November 27th, 2020, on Suicide Squeeze Records.
The core of the Los Angeles four-piece began with Laila Hashemi (keyboardist-vocals) and Lexi Funston (guitars/vocals) whose friendship carried from preschool days to the halls of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Ditching the playground for a practice space in high school, they caught up with Staz Lindes (bass/vocals) and welcomed David Ruiz (drums, vocals) in 2015. The Paranoyds’ mission was to craft songs with the gritty spunk and dark playfulness of a cult-classic splatter film is shared equally. The band notes that “Lexi and Staz are the predominant writers but the songs get all their true personality once David and Laila have something to say about it.” Their self-described “sister vocal act” shares the snarling, over-it-but-totally-into-it vocals throughout their songs, moving from dirty surf-pop guitar jams to power-packed garage rock.
The Paranoyds’ debut release on Suicide Squeeze offers a taste of what The Paranoyds have been performing on the road. Once back in their native Southern California, the band began work with Mark Rains at Station House Studios to follow up a handful of EPs that have previously captured the bands’ energetic and exciting sounds. “Hungry Sam” is a binge-worthy feast of chugging guitars and belly-rounded drums that stands as a live show favorite for the band. Funston sums up the regret and dread of dealing with excess, leading the band in a chorus of “I was hungry”, and her manic laugh is the bursting point which sends the band on a downward spiral. Hashemi’s kooky, playful keys sound like the soundtrack of a final lap in a classic video game, powered by Ruiz’s rumbling drums and a wipeout bass walk from Lindes. B-side “Trade Our Sins” is a cautionary slowdance fit for the end of the night or the end of the world. Desire’s doomsday has arrived, and as Lindes warns “the train is coming” over a simple waltz of guitars and keys, we hear of two lovers in a now-or-never moment to share in sins delights before it’s too late. All seems well though, as the song closes with a cheeky whistle punctuated by ecstatic moans and a final, satisfied sigh. While the band describes this b-side as a one-off from their core sound, it offers an enchanting, seductively playful gem for those wishing to know a sultry, downtempo side of the band.
The Paranoyds have kept a low profile on social media, keeping in the punk traditions of eschewing societal norms. They do what precocious punk bands do best – hit the road and make the world listen. They know the world is watching, from their outings as direct support for DIIV, Albert Hammond Jr., Sunflower Bean, and BRONCHO. Inevitably, more eyes will be on The Paranoyds, and they have the power to let their snarky, punk driven paranoia drive them to the sweet spot of insanity.
The Fat Angel Sings 