The New Brunswick, NJ-based trio Screaming Females have always straddled the genres of punk, indie, metal, and arena-ready jams, but on their newest album Desires Pathway, they deliver their most accessible musical offering with splashes of power pop and polished alt-rock.
Marissa Paternoster (guitar/vocals), Mike Abbate (bass) and Jarrett Dougherty (drums) have been at this for over seventeen years and there has been a clear evolution in the outfit’s sound. On their early records the angular noise blasts of Fugazi, The Meat Puppets, Sleater-Kinney and Dinosaur Jr. were immediately recognizable, now acts like Pearl Jam come to mind during the heavy riffs of “Beyond The Void”. Closer “Titan” embraces these radio-ready, alt-rock feelings with a clear Jane’s Addiction influence as the band looks to broaden their already spacious horizons.
While the music is upbeat and pristine, the lyrics are darker as Paternoster wrote the album pre-pandemic and post-break up. Rather than alter the lyrics during the nineteen months it took to finally get into the studio, the band used the original songs. The topics of burning houses, digging through bags of bones, chains of love, hearts beating out of chests, and abusive pain are delved into, hardening the complete effort.
The opening feedback and digital bleeps lead into the most kick-ass track as the dynamite “Brass Bell” bangs with ferocity. The polished heavy rock/pop-metal of both “Desert Train” and the ominous-sounding “Let You Go” (with killer wah-wah work) are both winners. The newer power pop twist to the band’s sound arrives on “Mourning Dove”, yet another bright-sounding, catchy track with wrenching lyrics and nuanced vocals.
This combo works for the trio throughout Desires Pathway. The snaking “It’s All Said And Done” delivers an infectious groove while Paternoster shares a rare ballad with the mournful “So Low”. The true spark of this band, however, is when the three players lock-in and Paternoster soars over the top such as on the ripping “Ornament” or on the tripped-out and layered “Let Me Into Your Heart”.
One of the best bands playing today just keeps striding forward with confidence as Desires Pathway is yet another successful offering from the Screaming Females. The New Jersey trio continues to shift and create new sounds while keeping their hard driving style intact.
