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The New Brunswick, NJ punk/power trio Screaming Females have continually produced some of the most kick ass music in this country over the last few years, now they release their newest effort that keeps the bar high, Ugly. The disk has a lot in common with the band’s 2010 Castle Talk but also steers a bit darker, especially when it comes to the lyrics/vocal theatrics from front female, Marissa Paternoster.
The upbeat strumming and popping low end from bass player Mike Rickenbacker and drummer Jarrett Dougherty highlight the first few songs including the ripping first single “It All Means Nothing”. While the album starts out in a pop/punk vein musically, the lyrics are lurking in the stalker shadows. An example is the chorus on “Rotten Apple” which reminds the object in question that the singer will “Never let you go”.
The amazing “High” flashes the groups interlocking talent as Paternoster soars on her axe with start/stop grooves before a pure face melting solo rings over a bubbling bass line and smashing cymbals to close things out. There was much made about the group working with Steve Albini for this release, but on the production side not much has changed at all. “Red Hand” has some off kilter six string strums and hand claps that seem new for the band, while the drums on the exhilarating 7+ minute psyche-rocking “Doom 84” are a bit distant and spacey but the group has stuck to their successful formula, making the production/engineering talk secondary to the killer tunes.
Other highlights are the thrash stylings of “Tell Me No” which the band smartly sequenced before the most arena ready riff fest “Leave It All Up To Me”. “Help Me” and “Expire” can’t help but give off a pop flair as Paternoster’s exuberant guitar lines make you shimmy while the banging of “Something Ugly” keeps things raw as the does the dose of heavy metal on “Slow Birth,” before the band strips down and shows their range with the gorgeous acoustic disk closer “It’s Nice.”
This is the longest album Screaming Females has ever released (it plays almost like a double album) and it might be their finest; there is not a weak song in the bunch. Screaming Females continue to make some of the best rock and roll out there regardless of the label placed on it and Ugly is a granite solid release from this shining gem of a group.
